Love at First Song
by hairsprayheart
Summary: When he rescued her from the troll and SANG to her, Giselle knew that Prince Edward was her true love... Enchanted. My interpretation of the way it would have - could have? - been. NOW COMPLETE! Thanks for reading!
1. The Wedding

**Love at First Song**

Chapter One: The Wedding

Giselle yawned and stretched, slowly awakening from another pleasant night of sleep in her newly restored tree-house bunk. The morning before it had been ravaged by a savage troll, but the beast had been vanquished by a noble prince – Edward.

She sighed at the thought of him. He was so handsome and brave.

"Oh, Pip, isn't he wonderful?" she had gushed to her chipmunk friend upon return to her tree house later that day. "He looks so very much like my prince" – here she gestured to the model standing in the corner – "… I just can't believe it!"

Pip nodded, rather absent-mindedly.

"He has the dark hair and everything. And – oh! – such a beautiful voice. What a song! I know I was made to finish his heart's duet," Giselle continued, unhindered. "And he's so strong! He even helped me fix my window."

She looked with something akin to disdain – though the creatures of Andalasia never experienced truly unhappy feelings – at the previously broken glass by her bed. She had been standing there, chattering away to all her forest friends, when a hungry troll had the audacity to reach in and try to grab her! Thankfully, he was flung off into some far-off land and Giselle and Edward were thus prepared to begin their happily ever after. After, anyway, the preparations for the wedding.

"I can't wait for tomorrow," she told Pip.

"You're growin' up so fast, sweetheart," the normally tough little rodent had commented tearfully.

"I suppose I am," Giselle mused.

"All ready to be a bride," Pip sighed, pacing around the floor of the tree house. "And go off to live in that big castle."

"It must be very lovely if Edward lives there."

"I just hope it has a few nice trees," Pip quipped, almost mournfully. "Since I won't be staying inside and all."

"Oh, but of course you will!" Giselle cried, surprised. "Why shouldn't you?"

Pip moaned, rather melodramatically.

"I dunno, Giselle… what if he doesn't like me?"

Giselle frowned. Clearly this wasn't possible. "But everybody likes you, Pip!"

Pip hopped up onto his little perch and patted Giselle's cheek lovingly.

"Not everyone's as nice as you, sweetheart."

What an odd concept. Wrinkling her nose, Giselle turned to the window. The sun was rising in a burst of orange. It was beautiful. Her mouth went slack as she watched the color of the sky fade to its normal blue tone.

"It's time," she gasped.

"Oh," Pip said, tensing. "I'll go get the other animals."

"All right," Giselle said, quickly undressing. "Do tell them to please hurry!"

She turned her dress over in her hands. It was pure white, detailed with lace, spider webs, delicate thread, and meticulous stitching. She had worked lovingly on it ever since she had dreamed of finding true love.

Soon, choruses of "Giselle! Giselle! It's the big day!" filled the tree house, as well as their speakers – many small forest animals ranging from rabbits to owls to deer and more.

"I know," she replied excitedly, twirling in her dress. "What do you think?"

The animals appreciatively _ooohed_ and _aaahed_.

"Oh my goodness," Faith the fawn said, trotting over to nudge Giselle gently. "The carriage is here!"

"The carriage," Giselle murmured, hurriedly slipping on her shoes. "Oh my! Come on, everyone! Nathaniel is here to take us off to the wedding!"

A trail of the animals followed Giselle to the white carriage.

"M'lady," Nathaniel said politely, greeting her and helping her into the carriage. "What a pleasure it is to see you."

He said some unpleasant things under his breath as he turned away. This girl was going to ruin everything between him and Edward. And more importantly, between him and Queen Narissa.

"This is so exciting," gasped Giselle, smiling brightly as she spread her skirts around her in order to sit comfortably. "I can't believe I've finally met my true love."

"You said it, princess," Pip said, though he didn't exactly seem euphoric.

It seemed such a long time that Giselle was waiting to get out. She occupied herself by looking out the window at the colorful forest passing by. It was neatly shaped, with the carriage path running smoothly through it. She was not usually one to appreciate design, but as there was nothing else to do, she might as well.

Suddenly, the carriage lurched to a stop.

"We're here!" one of the birds chirped.

"Oh my."

In a flurry of action, the animals finished getting Giselle ready – putting a beautiful tiara atop her lovely auburn curls, straightening out her many skirts, and all giving her a kiss for good luck. That was the most important.

As Nathaniel opened the door, Giselle thanked him and leapt out, with the animals still putting on the final touches. Pip bounded after her but found the door slammed rudely in his face.

"Why I oughta…" he said finally, after waiting a moment there. "We're goin' around."

While he and the animals tried to find a way to penetrate the castle's thick walls, Giselle was rushing to get inside the main building when an old woman suddenly blocked her way.

After an awkward moment of trying to avoid her, Giselle quickly pushed her way past.

"I'm sorry," she called back after. "But I really have somewhere I need to be!"

The old hag muttered a spell and transformed… but Giselle did not see this.

Huffing and puffing, Pip scrambled up the ivy that twined up the castle wall. He was really getting too old for this, but Giselle needed him. All he had to do was get over the wall, find where to unlock the gate, and let all the animals in… As he paused at the top of the wall, gasping for breath, he decided it would be better to find Edward and let him unlock the gate.

"Birds!" he called, watching them flit effortlessly into the courtyard. "Go get the Prince!"

Chirping their agreement, he sat down and watched the birds go off to do their task. He grunted as he descended the other side of the wall, talking to himself and acting rather jealous of the birds' ability to fly.

Pip panted and trailed after the white running mass ahead of him that seemed to be Giselle. Something, for a moment, blocked the way, but it had disappeared just as quickly as it came. He ran on.

"Giselle!" he yelled, trying to get her to slow down. "It's okay! We got plenty o' time!"

The beautiful young woman paused briefly to look back at her tiny counterpart.

"Oh, but it's all so exciting! I can't wait another moment to wed my true love!"

"I know, I know," Pip sighed, leaning down to grab a breath of air. "But can't you at least let me catch up?"

"Sorry," Giselle said, scooping him up. "I didn't mean to make you run such a long way."

"It's all right, sweetheart. Just carry me the resta the way, wouldya?"

Giselle beamed and obliged.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

A short while later, Giselle, Edward, Nathaniel, and all the forest animals were gathered in a large cathedral just outside of the castle. It led there from a small, winding trail that could be easily traversed in just moments. It seemed as though the whole kingdom was there, but its queen was noticeably absent.

Prince Edward and Giselle had joined hands before the minister and were prepared to recite their vows. Both had looks of sheer bliss on their faces.

"Do you, Prince Edward, take this woman, Giselle, to be your wife; do you promise to love her as long as you both shall live?"

There was no question about health, financial status, or faithfulness. None of these things was an issue in Andalasia.

"I do," he replied, beaming.

"Do you, Giselle, take this man, Prince Edward, to be your husband; do you promise to love him as long as you both shall live?"

"I do!"

"I now pronounce you Prince and wife." He looked knowingly at Edward. "You may kiss the bride."

Tension buzzed through the room and time seemed to stand still.

Edward swept Giselle off her feet and bent to place a gentle kiss on her tender lips… true love's kiss. The air was filled with magic, and the sound of cheers and whistles. As the couple stood and waved to the attendees, they noticed the sound of tiny sniffling.

Pip.

"Oh, Pip, don't cry!" Giselle begged. "This is a happy day!"

"I know!" Pip cried, embarrassed. "It's just so… waaaah!"

He continued to bawl as Giselle and Edward skipped down the aisle amid a rain of rose petals. They were going to the castle ballroom for the wedding reception. The whole kingdom would be there…

…except for Narissa, who was plotting in her bedroom…


	2. The Queen

Love at First Song

**Love at First Song**

Chapter Two: The Queen

"Ah, Giselle… What a day, my love!"

Edward fell back onto the pillowy white mattress, his long dark locks of hair flopping back. 

"We're finally together," Giselle said dreamily.

"I know. You're my true love, after all," the prince said, leaping up to take hold of Giselle's hands. "Our happily ever after begins now."

She shook her head in disbelief. She had dreamed her whole life of this day.

"Oh, but there's one more thing we have to do tonight – introduce you to my step-mother, the queen."

"The queen of all Andalasia?"

Edward frowned. He realized he had probably left out this detail. His step-mother was very powerful and sometimes overbearing, but she had always seemed to treat him kindly enough. She had always made sure that he didn't meet a girl – she thought they were distasteful little things. Oh, but she did not know how much fun they could be!

"That's right. And you shall be her successor one day."

"I knew you were a prince, but me? The heir to the throne?" Giselle twirled happily, imagining herself as a queen, with her pouf of a wedding dress as a royal gown instead. 

"It will be wonderful, my love."

"I'm sure she is wonderful and kind," she said, thinking about the queen. "I wonder why step-mothers always have such bad reputations."

Her new husband shrugged.

"I cannot say. She really has taken quite good care of me since my father died, so many years ago. I don't even remember my mother so well."

Giselle was instantly overcome by a fleeting feeling of remorse. Still, it didn't seem like Edward was_ too_ sad, so she gently pressed: "If I may ask, what happened to your father?"

"Not too long after he married Narissa, she went on a trip, and my father and I went hunting. Suddenly, a great purple dragon crashed through the brush. He tried to fight it off, but was swallowed up…" The way he said this was surprisingly matter-of-fact. Giselle supposed that the many years that had passed since the event's occurrence had numbed him. He couldn't possibly be so emotionless if it had happened recently.

"How tragic," she said softly. "I'm terribly sorry."

"It's all right. Narissa returned soon from her trip. …My father and I were never that close."

"That sounds awful."

In truth, Giselle had never spent much time with her own parents. As far as she could recall, she had been raised by the forest animals near her tree house home – at least, this was easily assumable considering their close bonds.

Still, it had always seemed nice to raise a close-knit family, and one day she hoped to do so herself.

"Well, my princess, it seems as though it is near time for us to head off to the feast." He smiled and gallantly offered his arm to her. "Shall we ride, m'lady?"

She beamed and took his arm. They skipped together to the great dining hall.

Edward pulled Giselle's chair out for her so she could sit comfortably before seating himself next to her. He squeezed her hand to comfort her – she had never been in such a large space before, or seated at such a large table. She was not nervous, but intrigued. Her eyes danced around the room to settle on the many paintings, furs, and tapestries that hung on the walls.

Then the giant door swung open and The Queen breezed in.

Queen Narissa was beautiful – in a dark, sharp sort of way. Giselle shuddered involuntarily as she walked by, and was immediately ashamed. The queen had given her no reason to be frightened of her. Perhaps the strain of the wedding had gotten to her – no; the wedding had been a joyous occasion. There were no negative feelings in Andalasia unless they were a premonition. Giselle momentarily pushed aside these feelings, telling herself that perhaps she was just tired. It was impossible for her to dislike somebody, after all.

"Welcome, my child," the queen boomed, seating herself gracefully at the far opposite end of the great table. "I hope you find the meal satisfactory."

Giselle couldn't help but notice the unpleasant _hiss_ the queen uttered when pronouncing her "s"-es.

"I'm very pleased to meet you," she quipped, trying to speak loud enough for Narissa to hear. She didn't usually talk very loud. Perhaps a song would carry the note better. Still, Narissa didn't appear to be the type of person who enjoyed singing.

"I know," Narissa replied in a bored tone.

Giselle… _bristled_. What an unfamiliar feeling. "Oh."

Beside her, Prince Edward also seemed to be feeling uncomfortable. He did not particularly like the fact that his step-mother was mistreating Giselle. All along, he had thought that Narissa had just wanted him to be happy… How surprising her reaction was.

"Why weren't you at the wedding?" he asked suddenly, realizing that she had been absent. His eyes flamed with something like accusation.

Narissa caught her breath.

"Oh, darling," she replied smoothly, tossing her head back to underscore her innocence, "I was just so busy today. I figured that the procession might be full anyway, with all of your adoring little followers."

Her wide smile seemed false.

Still, Giselle was determined to give her the benefit of the doubt. It must be hard for Narissa to run the kingdom _and _take on a new member of the family. That's what she was now, after all.

In silence, Edward lifted his fork and speared a piece of meat. He was about to lift it to his mouth when a great clamor arose from the hallway, and the fork froze in midair.

"Oh my goodness," Giselle said, quickly rising from the table. "That must be Pip!"

Narissa made a face. "_Pip_?"

"Her little chipmunk friend," Edward explained, now chewing.

Struggling to open the door, Giselle finally managed to let Pip in. He brushed himself off in disdain and scampered over to a chair. He climbed up and looked at the great feast laid out before him, patting his belly in anticipation.

"Well, well, well. Ain't that nice. A big meal for the new princess," he was saying, just as a hand enveloped him.

"No! Pip!" Giselle cried, throwing herself at Nathaniel. "He's my friend! Don't hurt him."

"Relax, Princess," Nathaniel said, squeezing the chipmunk tighter. "He's fine."

"Why I oughta…" Pip choked out, from inside the hand.

"You're hurting him," Giselle gasped, frowning. "Let him go. He's not going to do anything."

At her insistence, Nathaniel looked to Narissa – who rolled her eyes. He supposed that could be taken as approval. Pip was released and set back onto the table, puffing and smoothing down his ruffled fur.

"Sorry about that, chipmunk," Edward apologized quickly, looking at Giselle to make sure she wasn't too upset.

She looked at him gratefully.

"I'm very sorry, Pip. I guess they weren't expecting you," she added.

"Not really," Narissa quipped dryly.

Nathaniel looked down, feeling rather overpowered, and very forgotten. "I suppose you'll be wanting the main course now," he said quietly.

"Yes. Quickly," Narissa snapped.

He hurried away to go fetch it.

"So. Edward…" the queen continued, fixing her piercing eyes on her stepson's. "How do you like being a married man?"

The prince quickly shoveled down a forkful of food, barely swallowing before he answered. "I like it very much, indeed. Giselle is a fine young woman and I am quite proud to have her as my wife." Even as he said so his posture improved, puffing up with joy for his princess.

"Oh, Edward!" Giselle flushed with pleasure.

"Ain't that nice," Pip grinned, stuffing his own cheeks full.

Only Narissa said nothing.

"Mother?"

She shook her head, as if coming from a daze, and looked at her step son. "Yes, Edward?"

"Nothing." He turned away to return to his food.

"This has been a nice dinner. Perhaps it is time for you two to return to your bedchamber," she said, dismissively.

"Oh. All right," Giselle agreed, not wanting to anger with her new mother-in-law. Sort of.

"But I've barely had anything to eat," protested Edward.

"Go. Your wife wants you to."

Giselle did not disagree with this. Still, she did not see what was so exciting about sleep. Well, except for the fact that her bed would be warmed by her true love. Ah, what a wondrous thought. She smiled to herself.

"I would like to finish my dinner in peace, if you please," she snapped finally, seeing as no one had moved.

"All right, all right," Pip grumbled, hopping off the table into Giselle's waiting hand. "We're going."

As the trio left, Nathaniel brought Narissa the remainder of her food. She narrowed her eyes at the leaving group. She did not like that chipmunk. And she certainly did not like that girl.


	3. The Book

Love at First Song

**Love at First Song**

Chapter Three: The Book

"Good morning, sun. Good morning, flower. Good morning, dresser."

In nothing but her handmade undergarments, Giselle danced around her giant new bedroom and proceeded to greet each and every object within it. When finished, she plopped down on the bed to contemplate her next task and was surprised to feel a twist of pain in her belly. She quickly wrapped her arms around herself to stifle the feeling. For a moment she thought she might go crazy with all of these new things, but a smile crept to her lips as she realized that _this _feeling was just a reminder of the absence of her beloved new husband.

She was standing to dress when there was a faint knock on the door.

"Come in!" she called out cheerfully, in the midst of rummaging for any thread Edward might keep about.

"Oh. Sorry to interrupt you, Princess," came the voice of a petite girl with flaming cheeks. She quickly lowered her gaze. "I was sent to help you… dress," she added, finally closing the door she'd just come through.

Giselle turned, beaming. "Well, thank you oh-so-much, but my animal friends were on their way to do the very same thing." She opened the window to demonstrate and uttered a single long note to which the forest animals promptly answered. "See?"

The girl did not acknowledge the noise of the creatures.

"May I offer you assistance, m'lady?"

Going from the window, Giselle approached the girl to see her more closely. She was instantly captivated by her hair.

"It's the very color of sunshine," she sighed dreamily, admiring a strand.

The girl looked away shyly.

"Please do not say such things, my Princess. I am unworthy of your praise."

"That's not true," Giselle argued quickly. "You're beautiful!"

The girl did not answer but said, "My honorable Queen requests your presence for tea at noon. Your attendance would please her greatly." She paused. "Appropriate attire is suggested."

"Will Edward be there?" Giselle asked hopefully, allowing herself to be slipped into some sort of a corset.

"I'm afraid not. He is out hunting trolls with Nathaniel. Again." A look of distaste passed over her face, but she quickly masked it.

"Oh." All the air rushed from Giselle's lungs as the corset was tightened. "Must this be so… _tight_?" The last word was more of a squeak.

In answer, the girl yanked at the strings again.

"Ow!" Giselle cried, pulling away. "Is this how Queen Narissa wishes me to feel?" The words had escaped her lips unintentionally, and she put a hand there as if she wished them back. "Oh, I'm dreadfully sorry. I'm not really used to this sort of thing."

"It's okay," the girl said softly, pulling a deep green gown over Giselle's head and quickly stepping away. She hesitated a moment at the door, as if debating something with herself. "Yes," she whispered, and then was gone.

--

Wandering resolutely through the castle halls, Giselle realized the castle was bigger than she'd thought. It turned out there was a whole wing of rich, deep, confusing red carpeting. And that was it. No doors, no archways, no stairwells. She sighed, leaning heavily against the wall, and allowed herself to slip to the floor. She was lost.

Finally, a pair of women walked by, each bearing glimmering platters. Giselle instinctively rose to follow them. And, fortunately, they were taking tea to Narissa.

"Oh, there you are," Narissa said when she arrived, her tone jolting upwards in an attempt to seem friendly. "I was wondering where you'd… _scurried_ off to."

Giselle gave her a polite smile, feeling luck she'd found the place at all. The women had left the tea on the table and were gone.

"Please, have a seat. I'd be offended if you didn't," Narissa said, eyeing the teacups for a moment before reaching for one. She took a dainty sip and then looked to Giselle, still standing. "I insist," she added pointedly, her smile growing tight.

"Thank you," Giselle said finally, sitting.

"So…" Narissa realized her efforts to strike up a conversation were failing miserably. "Don't you care for tea, darling?"

"Oh. Yes." Giselle's hand went to the remaining saucer. "I've never had it before," she admitted, fumbling with the tiny handle. Why was it that Narissa was being so nice to her? …Or was _she _just overly nervous? She let out a small, self-depricating giggle and brought the cup to her mouth to avoid further humiliation.

Unfortunately, Giselle found the tea so bitter she spat it out at first taste. She wolfed down a pastry to get rid of the taste and tried to avoid the glare she felt burning into her.

"Haven't you any manners?" Narissa scolded, any trace of kindness gone. "Return to your room before you further disgrace yourself."

Appalled by her audacity, Giselle bowed her head and obeyed, quietly excusing herself. She felt the eyes of Narissa and the servants on her back.

--

Giselle truly would have gone back to her room, if she hadn't gotten lost again.

Without the unwitting help of the servants, Giselle had no bearing of the castle grounds. She would have actually, despite her amiable nature, very much liked to have retreated to her room and never face Edward or his step-mother again. But ever since entering the castle, luck did not appear to be on her side.

So, resigned to a fate of forever traversing the labyrinth of halls, she continued to walk, until she walked almost straight into a great door. And with a shove, she managed to open it.

She half-expected it to be another identical, faceless hallway. But she was greeted by a glorious warmth on her face: she'd made it outside.

The first thing she did was send out a call to her animal friends.

"Oh. Oh! Thank goodness you've come," she cried, looking up in relief at the animals that were surrounding her. She felt a strange satisfaction go through her at the thought of all of these animals making their way through the castle. Narissa's castle.

She twirled, sending the animals scattering.

"I need you to help me find my way back to my room," she asked of them. "I'm quite lost."

A bluebird flitted forth to aid her and Giselle smiled appreciatively. They had such good sense of direction.

Smothered by her corset, Giselle limped after the bird until they reached a wall. Sore and exhausted, she found her tireless spirit, well, tiring.

"Oh, Bluebird, what now?"

The bluebird circled and dove to perch on Giselle's shoulder. "I don't know, Giselle. Your room _is _that way."

Giselle pursed her lips.

"This just won't do. I wish Pip were here."

At the moment, Pip was reveling in his daily nap and remained blissfully unaware of the dilemma.

Buddy Bear Cub stepped up. "Maybe you could climb it?"

The wall in question was given a quick inspection and determined to have a flat surface and numerous footholds suitable for climbing.

"Thank you, Buddy," Giselle cooed, giving his soft head a nice rub. She had climbed many trees with Buddy, in pursuit of flowers, leaves, apples, and more. Besides the less-than-comfortable outfit she had on, this would be no different.

She gamely hiked up her skirts and had begun to climb when she looked back down at all of her grounded animal friends.

"I'm afraid most of you won't be able to come with," she said, with a small sigh.

"It's okay, Giselle," they chorused.

"All right, then," she said brightly, resuming her climb.

"Good luck, Giselle!"

"Thank you!" she called over her shoulder.

The birds flapped on ahead before finally disappearing. The wall had ended.

Giselle was having a fairly successful descent until her foot caught on one of her many skirts and she tumbled the rest of the way down.

"Oof," she grunted, struggling to right herself. "Birds?"

Giselle finally got to her feet, staggering to the spot where her feathered friends were hovering. She was apparently once again in the castle – a door looked promising – but this room had no pretty chandeliers or floor-to-ceiling carpeting. Everything was cold and made of stone, and a few candles offered a meager source of light.

"What is it?" she asked. The birds were looking intently at something and being uncharacteristically silent.

She gently pushed through them to find a small stand with an intricate leatherback book atop it. She opened it; the pages swam with unfamiliar words scrawled in slanting font. As she turned the pages, more and more strings of words appeared, until they ran together and Giselle felt dizzy.

Though she'd never before seen a book of this type, she knew full well what it was. She shut it forcefully, stumbling out the large door so quickly she failed to notice it disappear into the red façade of the wall.

She fell to her knees, gasping for breath as the realization of what she'd just found sank in.

Narissa was a witch.


	4. The Forest

Love at First Song

**Love at First Song**

Chapter Four: The Forest

Edward had been among these trees every day of his life. During the months after his father had died, they had beckoned to him like old friends, seeming to offer some reconciliation that they had been present, and idle, at the time of the king's death.

It seemed, though, that in the passing years, the thrill of the wood had – dare he say it? – diminished. It seemed, too, that some malicious being was stocking the forest with trolls, for every day there was another one that needed to be apprehended. So the young prince spent his days riding through the trees, perfecting his swordsmanship, his horsemanship, and mastering the technique of letting his youth dwindle away.

Edward was not a smart man. His father had tried to educate him, but his busy schedule as a king did not permit much time for anything other than royal affairs. (This lack of free time fostered in little Edward a love for horseback riding alongside his father to his various meetings and such.) Today, he did not really have any power – despite his bloodlines – or the tools or desire to run a kingdom. He was quite grateful to Narrissa for taking his place, though deep within him something about her unwillingness to let him do anything other than troll hunting seemed wrong. Still, he was admittedly a slower learner and apt to do as told. So he was, once again, going troll hunting.

"Come along, sire! We mustn't lose the trail…"

Nathaniel's voice was faint and distant. Edward clicked his tongue to Destiny and her meandering gate increased to a trot.

Finally, he caught up to Nathaniel.

"Nathaniel, my friend, perhaps we could just let this one go? Surely, you have other business to attend to—"

"Oh, no no no, sire," Nathaniel replied hurriedly, wheeling about. "He could go on a rampage. Destroy homes! Kill innocent people!"

"Nathaniel." The prince clapped his friend on the back in an effort to reassure him. "I'm sure even such a fearsome beast as he, can live in peace and harmony." He grinned with pride at his little rhyme. "Besides, my bride…"

"…is perfectly capable of waiting another hour for your return, sire," Nathaniel finished impatiently.

"I would like to return home now."

The portly man was slightly startled by Edward's insistence, reminded that while he did consider Edward a friend, he was first and foremost a servant. He sighed, and, mopping at his brow with a handkerchief, acquiesced.

"As you wish, sire."

Edward gave him a brief nod of gratitude before touching his heels to Destiny's side and galloping off. Nathaniel watched their retreating form disappear into the horizon.

"A horse, a horse; the kingdom for a horse," he grumbled, wishing somebody had the sense to keep him from walking all day.

As he sat down to rub his tired feet, he thought of what he always did when his resolve was crumbling: Narissa. She was so beautiful and smart. Nathaniel had been very loyal to his king, but when he and Narissa had been wed, jealousy had flamed through Nathaniel like a fire. Even then, Nathaniel remembered proudly, she had given _him_ attention. He had earned his spot as Honorary Assistant to the Queen.

He flipped open the locket he always kept around his neck to gaze at the picture of her. She had poise, was the epitome of grace, and ran the kingdom flawlessly. She was perfect.

How, then, could she believe she could suppress Edward's feelings by hiding him? And why was he helping her do it?

He sighed, snapping the locket shut.

"You can't stop love."

--

Destiny was nibbling at a patch of grass nearby while Edward busily gathered up flowers, humming to himself. The bouquet was rather ugly, filled with scraggly wildflowers of varying shades, but Edward was not exactly a florist. And it was the thought that counted, after all.

He was bending down to pluck a nice-looking daisy from the earth when a beautiful song rang out. He promptly dropped the bouquet before remembering what it was for, grabbing it up again and stuffing it unceremoniously into his saddlebag.

"I'm coming, my love!" he cried, leaping onto the horse's back.

Gaining speed, Destiny splashed through a rook and cantered through a meadow before Edward sighted the castle through a break in the trees. And then it was gone.

He scarcely had time to utter a "What?" before a giant green hand blindsided him, scooping him from Destiny's back and sending him tumbling into the underbrush. He spat out a few leaves before staggering to his feet and clumsily drawing his sword.

"You've met your match, foul beast!" he crowed, waving the sword. "Prepare to feel the wrath of… Prince Edward!"

Unimpressed, the giant troll stooped to swipe at Edward again.

"Missed me!"

Edward nimbly jumped out of the way, completing a neat roll beneath the beast's feet. The troll roared in frustration and pounded the ground. Edward went flying and his sword slipped from his hands. He was still fumbling for it when he felt two disturbingly large fingers pinch his shirt and pick him up from the ground. His face fell as he was lifted to the beast's face.

"Hello there," he said, with a sheepish smile.

The troll raised an eyebrow, mystified. "Food no talk."

Edward had paled, but was attempting to regain his composure. "Oh… Oh, no! No. No, of course not. Food doesn't talk. That's because… because _I'm_ not food!"

Narrowing his eyes, the troll shook Edward a little. "You _look_ like food."

His head spinning, Edward tried to think.

"You know, that horse over there looks pret-ty good."

Destiny looked up and whinnied indignantly, to which Edward gave her an apologetic glance.

"Horse yummy," the troll agreed. He dropped Edward.

Recovering from the ten-foot fall, Edward reached for his sword, but the troll was too busy lumbering after Destiny to notice. Edward quickly removed his boot and tossed it haphazardly. It struck the troll's back, and he whipped around.

"Hey!" he growled. "That hurt!"

Edward sprinted to the coil of rope that had fallen from his saddle during Destiny's flight. He swung it, threw it, and watched it sail to land in a wide loop over the troll's head. He laughed triumphantly and held tight to the noise, letting the troll drag him along behind him. The rope slipped to the troll's ankles and Edward yanked it tight. The troll groped for something to break his fall, but was unsuccessful, and landed flat on his face. Edward rubbed his hands together in a my-work-here-is-done gesture and hopped onto Destiny's back. She looked back at him.

"Sorry about that, girl," he apologized, patting her neck. She snorted. "I wouldn't have let anything happen to you."

She rolled her eyes backwards at him as if denying it and then lurched into motion, prancing across the wide green back and pausing to stomp on the troll's head in passing.

"I'll be back for you later, beast."

The troll groaned in reply, still a little disoriented after the knock to the head.

Satisfied, Destiny trotted gaily ahead, her stride bouncy and lengthy. For a moment, Edward looked back, past the troll, wondering where Nathaniel had gone.

"Should we wait for him, Destiny?"

The horse's nostrils flared. She did not particularly care for Nathaniel.

Edward's gaze returned to the castle, slowly growing larger in his view. After a moment, the cool canopy of the trees overhead ended, and the prince and his horse were bathed in sunshine.

With the gleaming castle gates in view, Edward again glanced backwards. While many trees were growing and thriving, and everything appeared to be in order and serene, Edward felt a growing sense that something ominous loomed ahead. And in the very back of his mind, there was ingrained an image of that man-eating purple dragon that would forever haunt his memories.

The forest. Filled with life, and death.

Edward clucked to Destiny and rode on, the forest, falling away in the background, still watching his escape.

**AN. Question: Why do all of the animals in **_**Enchanted **_**talk except for Edward's horse, Destiny? Just curious if anybody knew, or could explain. If so, please PM me or just mention it in your review! Thanks!**

**Also, there are PLENTY of references to other Disney movies in this and the following chapters – see if you can spot 'em!**


	5. The Spell

Love at First Song

**Love at First Song**

Chapter Five: The Spell

Giselle sat in a daze, chest heaving. She had just run through the entirety of the castle, searching for a safe place to rest. A haven.

An inappropriate sense of relief washed over her; at least she'd had a reason to dislike Narissa. Or at least not trust her.

She sank into the lush wet lawn at the front of the castle. Something urged her to run, to get away. But she was too tired to move. She scratched futilely at the back of her dress, silently willing the corset to burst open and free her. But it did not comply.

Sprawled out on the grass, she felt her eyelids grow increasingly heavy. Drowsily, she tried to sit up, to stay awake. But her own body was betraying her.

She was suddenly compelled to scream, but when she opened her mouth, it formed into the wide "O" of a yawn. Something terrible was happening, and she had no control. Finally, she relented to the exhaustion that was overtaking her. And then, she felt nothing at all…

--

Aurora, blinking at the bright sudden sunshine, pushed through the massive castle doors. A large wooden bucket banged on the little knobby knees that protruded from beneath her ill-fitting dress.

She was humming quietly, daydreaming again, even though both of these things were expressly forbidden. She cut daringly across the grass she was _not supposed to touch_. She attached the bucket to a pulley system, and hauled it up from the dark recesses of a wall with only half of what she had been instructed to. These small acts of rebellion brought her great satisfaction.

All her life, Aurora had longed to be a princess. She was a witty, well-mannered, and, many had said, beautiful child. But her father was a blacksmith, and her mother was dead, and neither of them had offered any royal bloodline. So, this was the closest she could come to achieving her dream.

She worked long hours doing tedious tasks and asked for little in return. Everyone said that she was lucky, and should be grateful for this opportunity. But spending her childhood laboring day in and day out for a queen that was impossible to please was less than ideal.

Purposely, Aurora took the long way around to get back to the castle. She was conjuring up another way to escape – she'd tried to do so multiple times, unsuccessfully – when she tripped over something.

"Oh! Oh my goodness," she gasped, jumping to her feet as she realized the offender was a person.

They, whoever they were, were lying facedown in the grass, thoroughly soaked by the well water that had just a moment ago been in Aurora's bucket. She quickly overturned the body – they must have been in quite a deep sleep not to wake at either being tripped over or splashed with water.

"Princess?"

Aurora jumped with surprise upon recognizing the face – it belonged to the cheerful new bride of the prince, whom she'd met earlier that day. She fell to her knees, wildly shaking the woman.

"Oh, please wake up," she pleaded. When it didn't happen, her breath choked with a sob. "Oh, this is all my fault!"

Abandoning the bucket entirely, she pulled the young woman to her feet and tried to drag her to the castle. She was surprisingly light, and Aurora guessed that carrying buckets of water had strengthened her puny arms. She couldn't remember the last time she'd looked in a mirror at them, much less at her face.

Unconsciously, Aurora noted that the princess was still warm. _At least she's not dead. Yet_, a tiny voice nagged. She felt a sudden inclination to loosen the corset; Giselle had complained about it earlier. She knelt, moved her hands about under the fabric of the dress; feeling for the clasps, undoing the laces. She waited, hopeful, for the princess to draw a breath. But she was still.

Aurora muttered a quick prayer before resuming her journey. She didn't know what was wrong with the Princess. But she did know that she would be to blame if Narissa found out.

--

"How delightful," Narissa purred, leaning in closer to the watery orb that held a wavy image of Giselle and Aurora. "The sweet servant girl aiding the poor princess." She cackled.

She drew a chair to her side and seated herself, her eyes never leaving Giselle's pale face. How long she had waited for this moment! She had dreamed of how to avenge herself against the little wretch who thought they could steal her throne. Granted, most of her fantasies had involved more violent measures – death in a fiery inferno, perhaps – but this would do.

Watching Aurora drag the princess into the castle, Narissa emitted a brief, soft chuckle. What was she planning to do now?

After a moment of rest for Aurora, Narissa grew bored. She paced the room restlessly, flipping through her book of spells – you never knew when a particularly diabolical one would come in handy – and half-heartedly reorganizing the various bottles she had lying around; one of which had been emptied into a cup of tea that had never been swallowed.

Every so often, she glanced back at the orb, which yielded nothing new. A pattern had been established: drag, rest, drag…

Narissa wondered if the child realized she was being watched. Her movements, so measured, so cautious, were deliberate enough to make it seem so. She frowned.

The servant girl knew too much. Narissa had seen her talking to the forest rat earlier. And of course, the precious princess was just too soft to sip the bitter tea that would have poisoned her. Perhaps it was more than coincidence. What had they had spoken about? Sighing, Narissa realized she'd have to kill them both.

Still, they had made it all too easy for her. The princess was dead, the girl was to blame, they both die, people cry… end of story. And a nice one, at that.

Aurora – was that her name? – settled Giselle into the bed and folded her hands neatly. She smoothed the long red locks of hair over the pillow; wistfully stroked her own. Narissa snorted.

Finally, the servant girl left the room.

Adjusting her crown, Narissa stood again and strode to the spellbook, looking over the page a final time: _Eternal Sleep_. She straightened, satisfied, and left the room.

The image on the orb was still swirling. Prince Edward entered the bedroom, clutching a bunch of flowers.

With his free hand, he tapped Giselle's shoulder. When she didn't stir after a moment, he softly said her name, growing more insistent with each unanswered call. He set the wildflowers on the table and shook his new bride violently. Then, his eyes softening, he tenderly pressed his head to her breast. For a long moment, he lay there, hopeful. But then he reeled back, face contorting with grief. His body was racked with sobs.

Like an abandoned child, he crawled up onto the bed, whimpering, trying to stop the tears that kept coming. He curled up next to Giselle, wrapping his arms around her, wishing his tight embrace could have kept her from leaving him.

In the corner of the orb, the bouquet was visible. From the wilted rose, a single silky red petal fell to the floor.


	6. The Gathering

Love at First Song

**Love at First Song**

Chapter Six: The Gathering

Head bowed and cloaked in black, Edward led the solemn funeral procession. There wasn't a single creature in Andalasia who wasn't in attendance, much as it had been in the castle's chapel only a week earlier.

Giselle was in her wedding dress – one of the last dresses she and the animals had made together – and she was placed in a glass casket that was to be left above ground for a week, so the entire kingdom could observe her beauty and pay their last respects.

While Edward asked to be alone for a while in the forest, Narissa "graciously" greeted her guests, accepting their sympathy with a polite smile. She then invited them to see the perpetrator of the crime. Aurora, bound to a wooden stage of sorts, winced but did not move as loyal citizens of the kingdom threw fruits, vegetables, and dirt, or spat in her face. She just prayed silently for forgiveness, and told herself this was what she deserved.

"Prince Edward?"

He looked up, quickly wiping his face. Seated on a stump at the edge of the forest, he was relieved that his visitors were just the animals that Giselle had been friends with.

"Oh," he said, his voice a small shell of the confident boom it used to be. "Hello."

The animals surrounded him, laying their heads in his lap or nuzzling their heads into his arms.

"We know you miss her very much," Faith the fawn said softly. "We do, too."

"Maybe we could get through it, together," Buddy whispered.

"Giselle would want us to be happy," a tiny bluebird added.

"But how can my heart sing, when there is no one to answer it?" he asked miserably.

The animals hung their heads.

"Where's Pip?" wondered Joey Jackrabbit, who was never still for long (he was always worried about being late to an as-of-yet unplanned event).

They consulted each other: nobody knew.

"I have an idea."

Edward stood; all the animals watched from a distance in quiet reverie as he approached the casket.

Most of the guests had gone, and Narissa had retreated to the castle, to "wander in her grief." Only the servant girl, some way away, remained. Edward tried to ignore her unfaltering gaze as he gently lifted the lid of the casket.

His throat constricted at the sight of her. She was so beautiful, and so unnaturally still. He caressed her, lifting her to him. A little ball of fur tumbled from her hair.

"You'd better go home, chipmunk," he said gently.

Pip looked up at him, eyes full.

"But my home is with her."

Edward nodded, understanding. "I know."

"Do you think we'll see her again?"

"You mean in heaven?" Edward paused. He didn't know much about this. "I hope so."

He glanced furtively back at the other animals.

"You know… Pip… you could stay with me, if you want. Just for now."

Pip sighed. "I wish I'd been there with her, when it happened. I coulda done somethin', ya know?"

"I think we all wish that."

They were silent for a moment. Both of them were thinking about Aurora.

Edward fisted his hands. "When it's time for her to be punished, I swear—"

"Do you think she really did it?"

"I don't know." It seemed strange. What could Giselle have done to be so greatly disliked? He frowned. "The servant was always kind to me."

"Maybe she didn't do it." Pip looked thoughtful. "I think we all just wanted a scapegoat. A reason." He glanced away. "We tell ourselves that somebody must be the cause, because we don't think that the universe could possibly dare to take somebody like Giselle away from us."

"We should go," Edward murmured, clearing his throat. He knew he'd never _really_ be able to. But if he didn't try…

It was so unfair. His mother had told him he was better off without Giselle – it would make him stronger. But he didn't want to be strong. He wanted to be happy. And that was only going to happen with her. His true love.

"Just let me say good-bye," Pip said finally.

Edward respectfully turned away. He chose to watch Aurora. Had it been she who had stolen his chance of a happily ever after? Or was she just somebody to blame for an unexpected tragedy?

Tenderly, Pip kissed Giselle's pale cheek.

"Good night, honey," he whispered, repeating their old nightly ritual. "Sleep tight."

Vision blurred by tears, he hopped down from the casket and nestled deep into the forest grass, pretending the warm earth that held him was her hand.

Edward inhaled sharply and squared his shoulders, preparing himself.

Even though his voice was shaking, he managed, "I've been dreaming of a true love's kiss…" He stroked her hair; cupped his hand around her jaw. "Oh, my love."

He leaned in close to smell her: flowery, sweet. He examined her beautiful face. Her lips looked so soft and comforting. So he pressed them to his.

It hurt him to pull away. He knew that this would be the last time. Their lips ripped like a seam.

Suddenly, Giselle sat straight up.

"Giselle!" Edward cried, biting his fist and rushing back to kiss her again.

"Where am I?" she asked, her lovely face registering confusion, her great chest heaving as if she hadn't breathed for years.

"Oh, my love," Edward sighed happily, lifting her from the bed of flowers lining the casket and swinging her around. She squealed with delight. "We thought you had died!" He turned to the crowd of animals. "She's alive!"

"She's alive!" the animals echoed in exultation, stampeding over to her and surrounding her. Pip was the first there; he showered her with kisses through apologies while he stood on her shoulder.

"My love," Edward said again, holding her at arms' length, "whatever happened to you?"

"Did she do something?" Pip asked suspiciously, peeking out of Giselle's hair to eye Aurora.

"Oh! That's the pretty girl who took me to tea with Narissa that day," Giselle remembered. "But… I never got her name." She paused. "She was… suspicious about Narissa."

Edward was puzzled. "Mother?"

"The last thing I remember," Giselle said, walking around as if retracing her steps, "was feeling oh-so-tired. I fell asleep on the front lawn." She frowned. "The only thing that I could think could make me so tired was my corset. It was too tight." Then, she looked down. "Well, I did run around a lot that day. I was coming from—"

"Oh, is that all?" Edward asked brightly. "Well, we must return home and tell the kingdom of the good news! We shall hold a ball, tonight, to celebrate!"

"Wonderful!" Giselle cried, clapping her hands.

Pip felt himself bristle slightly at the sight of Edward's hand resting possessively on the small of her back. He forced himself to smile, asking, "We're invited, right?"

Edward's smile drooped a little. "Sorry, chipmunk. It _is_ a castle."

"Of course," Pip said, through clenched teeth.

He watched the happy couple scamper off to _their_ home, _their_ castle, _their_ life. It seemed as though Giselle had just come back to him, and now _he _was taking her away again.

"Just once," he grumbled, "could I be called by my NAME?!"

Faith looked at him good-naturedly. "Well, actually, he did—"

Pip turned away, smacking his forehead with a paw. "We never get what we deserve."


	7. The Bow

Love at First Song

**Love at First Song**

Chapter Seven: The Bow

"Oh, Edward, I can't tell you how much it means that I'm back here with you again," Giselle sighed, looking into her prince's deep blue eyes. "But…"

"What is it, my love?" he asked, concerned, taking her small hands into his own.

"I feel out of place here," she said softly, her eyes quickly filling.

"Oh, oh no, please don't cry!" He nuzzled his face into her neck and kissed her. "You fit perfectly with me. See?"

She smiled a little. "What will all of the people at the ball think of me?"

"They're just peasants," Edward replied dismissively. "What does it matter?"

"It doesn't," Giselle murmured, unconvinced.

Edward disentangled himself from her and walked to the dresser, looking for something to wear to the ball that night. Most of the time, his mother put something out for him, but today, she had been rather distracted.

"Edward?"

He turned to look at his wife.

"What would you do if there was something that you knew, that you weren't supposed to?"

"I don't know what you mean," Edward said, his beautiful features shifting with confusion.

"Never mind," she replied. She joined him at the dresser. "Let's get ready for the ball, shall we?"

--

"Pssst!"

Giselle tapped insistently on the window beside her bed. There was a very large tree beside it, with many branches sprouting from its trunk. She knew that Pip was sulking atop one of them.

"Pip, I know you're hiding," she called out. "I need to talk to you."

Grudgingly, Pip climbed up a spiraling branch and put his face to the window. He looked impatient.

"Oh, thank goodness you're here," Giselle said. "Come in."

"I thought we wasn't allowed in here," Pip snapped, not budging.

"Well, no one else is here to tell you otherwise," Giselle invited, opening the window to let him in.

He finally entered and hopped onto the bed. "What is it?"

"I needed to talk to someone and no one else would understand."

"Oh, so I'm just the back-up now, is that it?"

"No, Pip, that's not it at all!" She sighed and sat down next to him, unintentionally launching him a little as she bounced the bed. "I just knew that you were a good listener."

"For me bein' so mad atcha, you're pretty good at manipulatin' me."

"Oh, Pip." She stroked his tiny head with her pinky. "I found something out about Narissa that I wasn't supposed to."

"Really?" Having a rather big mouth, Pip prided himself on knowing all the forest gossip. He was the unofficial leader of all the forest animals, being Giselle's right-hand chipmunk and all.

"She's a witch," Giselle whispered.

"Oh, wow. That's definitely a big secret right there," Pip agreed. He paused. "Am I really the only one you've told this to?"

Giselle nodded solemnly.

"Not even Edward?"

She shook her head. "Should I have?"

Pip narrowed his eyes. "No. Nope. Definitely not. What if he thinks you're lying?"

Giselle's eyebrows shot up in surprise. "You're right. That would be just terrible!"

"Aren't ya glad you chose to talk to me?"

"Oh, very much so, Pip," she said quickly, standing. "What should I do now?"

The little chipmunk stroked his chin thoughtfully. "Well, I guess you should probably go to the ball, as to avoid arousing suspicion."

"Of course," Giselle agreed. "What should I wear?"

Pip scampered to the closet and looked at all the dresses. He found a dress that she and all the forest animals had made together – one that was not very revealing at all, he noted with satisfaction – and suggested it. It was pink: a nice, demure color that was less than suggestive that she knew anything at all.

"How about this one?"

"I don't know," Giselle said. "It's kind of… well, I don't know. Not formal enough?"

"Fine." Pip looked again. "How about _this_ one?"

This dress was orange, floor-length. Sure to please.

"Too flashy."

Pip sighed at length. "Why don't you pick one out that _you_ like and then I'll tell you if _I_ like it?"

"Okay," Giselle said brightly.

She flipped through the hangers until she found a sleek black dress that looked unlike anything Pip had ever seen before. He was dazzled and disgusted at the same time.

"And that _isn't_ flashy?" He looked away. "Really, Giselle. I thought you had more taste."

Offended, Giselle replaced it.

"This isn't really working," she said, exasperated, seating herself on the edge of the bed, this time being careful not to displace Pip. "We just don't seem to agree on anything anymore." She picked at the hem of the bed's comforter. "Have I really changed so much since coming to live here, Pip?"

He was silent.

"I'm afraid so," she said, her face falling. "I'm very sorry, Pip. I didn't think things were going to change _this_ much."

"Well, they have," he said flatly.

"You'll still help me, won't you?" She stroked his back. "I need you, Pip. You're my very best friend. You always will be."

"You mean it?"

She nodded, her red curls bouncing with seemingly contagious enthusiasm.

"I'm sorry things are different, Pip," she said again. "Maybe we can make a compromise. You want a dress that's a nice, simple one, but I want something that's nice enough for Narissa's taste."

"Don't wear anything black," Pip interrupted. "That's her department, remember?"

"Because she's a witch?" Giselle whispered, with a giggle. "You're terrible."

She pulled out a baby blue dress with a mostly flattering shape that went to her ankles and also fit Pip's taste. When they had agreed on it, she put it on and invited him to hide out in the bow on the back, so he could be at the party and not get in trouble. He was a little apprehensive about being trapped there but decided he would make the best of it if Giselle really wanted him to go along. So, he allowed himself to be strapped in.

"There. That's not so bad, now is it?"

"Mmph-mm."

"What?"

Giselle stood in front of the mirror and looked behind her. She laughed. Some fabric was caught in Pip's front teeth.

"Sorry," she quickly apologized, readjusting the bow. "What was that?"

"I was just trying to tell you that I couldn't breathe," he panted sarcastically. "But I'm okay. Really."

"I'm ready if you are," she said.

"Aye-aye, cap'n."

Giselle put on a pair of shoes and with Pip quite close by, strode off to the courtyard for the ball.

--

"My lady, may I have a word?"

The queen was still in her proper grieving attire but she was busily drawing up plans to make Edward forget all about his old princess. Soon, he'd be happy as a lark, wandering through the forest chasing down all of the trolls she had created, and everything would be back to normal without any more interruptions from that little pretender to her throne.

"What is it, Nathaniel? I'm rather busy at the moment."

Nathaniel cringed. Her Highness would not be very happy. Not that she ever really was.

Briefly, he eyed the orb. It was empty. She didn't know yet. All day, while Edward had been out celebrating and gallivanting with his bride and the whole rest of the kingdom, their queen had been locked up here, unknowing.

"Actually, my queen, I have some bad news."

Narissa looked up from her spell book abruptly. "What?"

He cleared his throat. "Erm, well, ah… that princess, girl… She's not dead. Exactly."

The queen's already tight skin seemed to stretch taut to breaking. "She's WHAT?!"

Nathaniel bowed his head. "She's alive, my queen."

He began backing up then, knowing what was to come. He quietly opened the door, exited, and closed it behind him. He closed his eyes, counting in his head: _one, two, three, four, five…_

"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"

A burst of flame flushed through the dark stone room, charring the walls. Many of the glass potions lining the walls shattered at the pitch of the scream, and then a deep rumbling filled the earth.

"Oh, this is not good. Not good at all."

Suddenly, a deep voice boomed from within the other room.

"_Stop right there, Nathaniel_."

"Oh, my queen," he gasped, falling to the ground. He shielded the back of his head with his arms, just in case something else was to explode.

"_Get up and come here_."

He immediately obeyed. There was nothing in the room, except for some horrific swirling mass of deep purple cloud gathered in the corner. It was frightening and awful. He cowered in the opposite corner of the room, one hand on the doorknob just in case.

"Y-y-yes?"

"_I want you to take this bow and kill the girl. Do it right this time_." The voice paused before booming again. "_For me, darling_."

The cloud somehow produced a bow and arrow that fell precisely at his feet. He looked at it in horror.

Billowing, the cloud engulfed the room, and then dissipated, leaving a flash of bright light that caused Nathaniel to once again fall to the ground. For a long time, he lay there, whimpering. And then he stumbled to his feet. He had to kill the girl. If he did, Narissa would love him. If he didn't, she would kill him.

"_I'll be watching you_."


	8. The Ball

Love at First Song

**Love at First Song**

Chapter Eight: The Ball

For the fourth time that night, Giselle tugged uncertainly at her dress. She knew that it looked fine. But she had been up in this chair for over an hour. She politely greeted every passing guest and thanked them for attending.

She glanced around the room to be sure no one was watching her and hastily shifted in her seat. Her foot had fallen asleep. Edward had insisted that she be treated like the princess she was. But if that meant being stared at all day, she wasn't sure she liked it. She sighed. Being royalty wasn't all it was cracked up to be.

"I'm getting a drink," she announced, to no one in particular. She pushed herself up from the chair and jumped to the floor.

Eager to get back in the princess' good graces, Aurora was immediately at her side with a crystal goblet. "You must be parched," she said softly.

"Oh, not really," Giselle admitted, taking the goblet anyway. "Just bored."

She grinned. She'd never held anything against Aurora. In fact, she considered a friend. But the gesture was nice. She looked at the goblet and took a sip hesitantly, swallowing it before making a face.

"What is this?" she asked, pushing the goblet back at Aurora.

"It's just wine," Aurora said, a little taken aback by her disgust. She paused. "You've never had it before, have you?"

Giselle, eyes wide, shook her head.

"Then don't have anymore," Aurora advised, quickly replacing the glass on the table.

"My lady."

Nathaniel appeared before her with a respectful bow. Aurora quickstepped away, eyeing him cautiously from a distance with narrowed eyes.

"May I steal her for a moment?"

Looking at Giselle, who was still making a face and licking her lips in a most unbecoming fashion, she raised an eyebrow and shrugged.

"Sure."

"Would you like to talk a walk with me?" he invited. "In the dark?" he added, hastily, unconsciously.

Giselle managed a quick glance back at Edward, who was busily chattering with some of his noble friends. For a moment she stiffened. If this was really a ball, there would be music, and dancing – with him. But instead she was being treated like entertainment. Her gaze returned to Nathaniel's expectant face. "That would be lovely," she smiled.

Nathaniel beamed, and Aurora looked away, disappointed. She didn't have the authority to tell the princess what not to do and where not to go, but she figured Giselle would know better than to follow this crony. Giselle caught her eye. "Would you like to go?"

"Oh, no, I couldn't," she lied, avoiding Nathaniel's glare.

"Good girl," he said, with false friendliness. "We're talking of royal business, anyway. It's of no interest to you." He picked up Giselle's goblet on the way out.

Miffed, Aurora turned away.

Nathaniel took Giselle's arm and led her outside. Aurora watched her go. She'd better watch them, just in case. Her eyes would be glued to Giselle's back… along with the _rodent_ there…

--

"Oh my. It is very dark out here, isn't it?"

"It should be of no worry. Our forests are quite safe. Quite safe," Nathaniel repeated. "And if you stay close to me, my lady, I assure you that we shall have a marvelous time."

Giselle tried to smile, but noticed unhappily that it was not very easy to see it in the blackness.

"So, why did you really take me for a walk?" she asked then.

She was still not the brightest girl in the wood, but she knew more than she let on. Especially about this castle, and its ruler. Perhaps Nathaniel was more trustworthy. Maybe he was coming to her for help.

"Oh." Nathaniel hadn't really been expecting this question. "I… I just wanted to see how you were doing. With your royal duties, and all. It must be very hard adjusting. Going from a peasant girl to a princess, you know."

"Oh, it has been," she sighed, glad that he seemed to understand. "You see, when I was in my little tree house, I could see the animals all the time I liked. But now, I don't get to see them much at all." She went on. "And it's so hard to find the right dress to wear. And I never know what to say, or do, because it all seems to come out wrong, at least in somebody's eyes."

"I know how you feel," Nathaniel said softly.

"Oh, you do?" Giselle asked, hopefully. She put her head on Nathaniel's shoulder. "I'm so glad. I was beginning to think it was just me."

Nathaniel shifted uncomfortably.

"Always being watched, always being expected to do things right, when you just can't seem to."

He realized that perhaps, this darkness would give him more aid than expected. He had thought, originally, that it would be easier to kill the girl and be unnoticed. But now he discovered that perhaps instead he would be unnoticed by Narissa.

This conversation, this humanization – he just couldn't listen to it and then do her in. He wouldn't have been able to do it, anyway.

"Princess," he said, "do you ever feel like no matter how hard you try, people just don't love you?"

Her eyes went wide. "Oh, of course not. At least, I hope that's not true. How very, very sad." She paused. "Is that how _you _feel, Nathaniel?"

"Oh, no," he said quickly. "I was just curious." His cheeks flushed, and he was glad Giselle could not see it.

They walked for a moment in silence, the only sound being the soft _crunch, crunch_ of their feet on the forest leaves. Nathaniel stopped abruptly and looked about. "What was that?"

"What? I didn't hear anything."

"Shh-hh." Nathaniel put a hand on her arm. "Listen."

Even though they weren't moving, there was a faint crunching going on behind them.

"It's her," he gasped.

"Who?" Giselle asked, leaning in as if they were sharing a secret. She was becoming quite confused.

"Oh, nothing. No one," he replied, regaining his composure. "Let's continue our walk, shall we?"

Giselle nodded, forgetting he couldn't see her.

"My lady," he said, lowering his voice to an almost whisper. "I suggest you go back to the castle and get some sleep. There's a back door through which you may enter, so none of those nitpicking biddies can see you."

She giggled a little at his name for the gossiping noblewomen. "Thank you, Nathaniel."

He looked at her. "You might want a drink of this."

She fumbled in the darkness for whatever it was he was giving her. It was a goblet. She took a deep swig that sent fire running down her throat.

"This is the same stuff! The… w-wine!"

"It'll make you sleep well," he promised.

Giselle looked at the goblet uncertainly, but Nathaniel tipped it encouragingly and she downed the rest of the glass.

"Thank you, Nathaniel," she said, and he pushed her off in the direction of the castle.

He sat down in the grass, wondering what Narissa would say when she found out his bow was broken in half, unused.

"What have I done?"

--

"Princess? What are you doing here?"

Giselle looked up. She had been trudging through the woods for a while, and she was pleasantly surprised to see Aurora standing before her with a candle.

"Oh, thank goodness! I'm afraid I've gotten quite lost, and then one of my shoes fell off, and even though I'm used to walking barefoot—"

She had begun to babble when Aurora interrupted.

"Giselle? Are you okay?" She held the candle up to the princess' weary face. She was holding a very large, very empty wine goblet.

"Oh, no. Princess! You were supposed to sip it all night. You weren't supposed to drink it all!" She paused before letting out a long-suffering moan. "Who gave that to you? You aren't supposed to take drinks from strangers."

Giselle's innocent eyes widened. "But I just got it from you. You're not a stranger."

"No, I suppose not." She looked Giselle up and down. "My, am I glad I found you."

Aurora took Giselle's hand gently and led her towards the castle. "I'm not really welcome in the ballroom without your permission. Some of the nobility still holds a grudge." She paused as Giselle hiccupped loudly. "But I suppose in your state, you wouldn't be, either. Let's get you to bed."

"No more dancing?" Giselle asked sadly.

Aurora frowned. "You weren't dancing. You were just _sitting _there, in that chair."

"But I was," Giselle persisted.

Unconvinced, Aurora led Giselle through the back door and up to her bedroom, hoping not to attract any attention – from the guests, the queen, or anybody else – in the dark corridors. There were many spiraling stone steps, and Giselle stumbled over more than a few of them.

"You were probably just dreaming."

"Edward danced with me," Giselle continued stubbornly. "In the woods. He told me he'd be waiting for me. _In our bedroom_," she added in a whisper.

Aurora blushed. Perhaps Giselle wasn't as naïve as she'd thought.

"Hey!"

Aurora heard an insistent squeaking. She turned to see the bow on Giselle's dress wildly reverberating. She laughed and freed the little creature in it. "Thanks, kid," Pip said, hopping down.

"Look here, sweetheart. You ain't going nowhere 'til you and me have a talk."

"I'll tell the prince you'll be up in a minute," Aurora offered, not wanting to stick around.

She hurried off, giggling to herself at the strains of Pip's lecture.

Gingerly, she opened the door to the bedroom. For all she knew, the prince was all ready.

"There she is! Get her!"

Aurora shrieked as she was ambushed, and tumbled into a burlap sack. Her breath was rapid, but everything seemed to be moving slowly. She could hear voices, but they were muffled by the thick burlap.

"That was her, right?"

"I dunno. Probably. 'Long hair, slight build,' she said."

Aurora narrowed her eyes. It bothered her greatly that she couldn't identify her captives. Judging by their use of slang and improper language, they were from a neighboring town. Probably just some buffoons that had been hired to do the dirty work, lured in by the promise of money. They couldn't have worked at the castle if they were unable to distinguish a servant from a princess.

"Should we check 'n' make sure?"

"Nah. What if she tries to ec-scape?"

Within the sack, Aurora thrashed, her foot successfully connecting with something. Something fleshy.

"Ow!! See?"

She smirked.

"I thought princesses were supposed to be all sweet-like 'n' docile."

_Well, I'm not a princess. But you're too stupid to know that. You probably don't even know what _docile_ means._

"I guess we'd better go before someone gets suspi-shush."

As Aurora felt herself being hauled away, it all began to come together: Nathaniel pushing the wine on Giselle, acting secretive, taking her out into the woods. And then, a distinct hallucination, specific instructions, and _somebody_'s absence from the ball. And that somebody was most definitely in cahoots with Nathaniel. They were trying to hurt Giselle. And she'd been blamed! _That explained everything_. Aurora bared her teeth.

"_Narissa_."


	9. The Aftermath

Love at First Song

**Love at First Song**

Chapter Nine: The Aftermath

Tiptoeing around the room, Giselle searched for some material to make into a dress. Unaccustomed to the feeling of embarrassment, she'd had no qualms the night before about stripping her dress off right in front of Edward.

(Then again, that might have been the wine – which was currently causing her a rather painful headache.)

This morning, though, it was cold in the drafty old castle. The chill that went through her upon waking and removing her covers had been strange and shocking. Didn't the love in this house fill it with warmth? …Or was there any?

A knock on the door prompted Giselle to drape a blanket over herself. Perhaps the Queen would be less appreciative of her nakedness.

"Hello? Come in!"

Nathaniel opened the door and immediately blushed at Giselle's lack of clothing.

"Hey, that's what Aurora did when she came in that one day."

"Erm… ah… the Queen requests your presence for tea, m'lady."

"That's what Aurora said, too! Of course," Giselle chirped, shifting in the blanket. "Did you see Edward this morning, Nathaniel?"

"That I did. He went out to the forest," Nathaniel said, softly, still avoiding her glance.

"All right. Thank you."

She pawed the ground with one toe and looked down. She didn't particularly want to go anywhere without her prince, especially not if it meant being alone with his step-mother. She'd never felt as apprehensive about anyone as she had about the Queen. And if Pip didn't like her – which he didn't – then something was going on. Still, maybe a nice cup of tea and a good conversation would set everything straight, and they could be friends.

"M'lady?"

"Hmm?" Her head snapped up and she looked back at Nathaniel.

He paused.

"Is something the matter?"

"No. No, Nathaniel. Thank you."

"If you're sure."

The portly man inclined his head slightly and then closed the door.

Giselle walked over to the window and opened it so the early morning warmth could enter the room. She let a single long note out into the breeze.

Soon, it was answered by some neighboring birds. She smiled.

"What do you need, Giselle?" they chirped, flitting into the bedroom.

"I need a dress."

"What kind of dress?" a deer asked, loping up.

"A very nice dress," Giselle verified, glancing about at the fancy interior of the bedroom. She sat down on the bed. "Something elegant. Maybe red."

"We need berries!" a squirrel cried.

"I'll get the thread," a tiny voice sang out. It was Miss Spider.

"How delightful," Giselle beamed. "And somebody get me Pip!"

"Comin' through, comin' through!"

"Oh, Pip! You're here!"

"That's right I am," he huffed, climbing up onto the windowsill and scampering up to the bed. "Wouldn't be anywhere else in the kingdom."

"Oh, that's sweet of you." Giselle lifted Pip to her cheek to give him a kiss.

"Awww," all the animals cooed.

Soon, Giselle was outfitted in a brand-new, cranberry red dress with a plunging neckline and flattering fit. Pip was convinced it was too revealing, but Miss Spider insisted her handiwork was perfect for the occasion.

"Time to go," Giselle sighed, though she didn't really want to.

"Aw, don't be sad. What would ya do here with us, anyway?" Pip asked, trying to help.

"Well, I would play and frolic and have fun," Giselle pouted.

"Sorry, Princess. This has to be done," Pip sighed. "I don't want to leave you alone with her, either."

"The last time we had tea, it went not so well," Giselle remembered quietly. "But I'm not wearing a corset this time, or running, and I'll try to swallow all the tea." She smiled gamely. "Besides, some witches are good. She must be lovely – once you get to know her – if she raised Edward."

A muscle jumped in Pip's jaw. He and this Edward fella were not on good terms. "Sure, sweetheart."

"Where _is_ Prince Edward?" a cardinal asked.

"Oh, he's out in the forest," Giselle said absent-mindedly, watching herself in the mirror and twirling before it. "I guess he wanted me and his mother to have some bonding time."

Pip looked doubtfully upon the dress and its wearer. She was growing up. Fast. "Remember what we talked about last night," he cautioned.

" 'Don't let anyone force you to do something you're uncomfortable doing,' " she parroted. "I know, Pip. I'm a big girl."

_Don't I know it._

To distract himself, he said brightly, "Say, sweetheart, have you seen Aurora today? I thought she normally came up an' dressed ya an' told ya the day's schedule."

"Oh." Giselle's brows knit together. "You're right. No, I don't think I have."

Pip was disappointed. He had begun to warm up to the little servant girl, since she had been cleared of any wrong-doing and rescued Pip from the constraints of the bow.

"Would you like me to accompany you instead?"

"Of course I would like you to," Giselle said. "But I don't think it's very respectable to walk around with a chipmunk on your shoulder." She smiled apologetically, innocently.

Pip looked at her, unmoving – _and that dress _is? He was shocked, and stung.

"I see," he said softly, his voice small.

He stood, brushed himself off, and hopped down from the bed. He scurried up the curtains and stood for a moment on the windowsill, blinking. "I had hoped it wouldn't turn out this way," he said curtly, turning away. "But I think I knew it would." He sniffed. "Come on, gang."

"Wait! No!" Giselle cried, watching Pip disappear from the windowsill. "I'm sorry! I didn't mean—"

The other animals quietly left.

"Good-bye, Giselle," a few murmured soberly. And then they were gone. Distraught, the princess put her head in her hands.

"I'm sorry," she repeated meekly, tears rolling down her cheeks.

--

Narissa splayed her fingers over the surface of the table, her gaze unwavering as she stared down the two men. She'd hired them for back up, just in case Nathaniel had been unsuitable for the task. He had been.

"So," she said calmly, "let me clarify. I give you a description of the princess. A _servant_, who as it may happen _frequents_ the area she _lives_ in, walks in the room, and you capture _her _instead." She tilted her head a little, smiled slightly. "Now, does that make sense to you? Because it most _certainly _does _not _make sense to _me_."

The men looked at each other.

"Wull, to be fair, missus… your dee-scrip-shuns wasn't too spuh-cific."

Narissa massaged her templed, wishing she'd had better sense than to hire the village idiots.

"That's not the POINT!" she screamed. "Not only have you failed to do your job – meaning that you won't be paid – but you have also managed to interfere with and otherwise botch my personal plans _far_ extending your own task, for which," she continued more calmly, "you will be summarily killed."

Both men cried out. Aurora, watching from the corner of the room, frowned. She would have loved for her captors to be killed for making her go through this, but not while she was there.

"Hey!" she called out bravely, drawing to herself the attention of her employer. "What about me?"

Narissa sighed.

"Oh yes. You." She rolled her eyes, wondering if these imbeciles realized how much trouble they were all causing her. "I'm still going to kill you," she reminded the men. "But as for you…"

Aurora did not at all care for the way the corners of Narissa's mouth were upturned. She began to regret speaking.

"I think you would make very nice bait."

"What is _that _supposed to mean?" she demanded, openly disrespectful now. She didn't care. After the last outburst, she was probably going to die anyway. And "bait" didn't sound too promising.

"Oh, you'll see," Narissa said simply. "You've spoken to the forest rat?"

"Her name's Giselle."

Quickly realizing her mistake, she faltered, lying, "But no. I haven't. She… she doesn't speak to me," she stammered.

"Don't try to protect her, you little wretch," Narissa snarled. "I've _seen_ you two together."

Aurora lifted her chin defiantly, saying nothing.

"What?" Narissa's expression turned fierce as she tracked the movement of Aurora's pupils. Her gaze snapped back to Narissa's face, but not fast enough. Narissa looked past the girl to see the two men trying to escape.

She cackled, extended her index finger and shooting a bolt of electricity from its tip. It engulfed both the men and sent them to the floor, writhing in agony.

"You thought _you_ could escape _me_?" She laughed. "You peasants are so foolish. But so amusing. And now, you won't be able to move for a few hours."

Nervously, Aurora licked her lips as Narissa turned back to her.

"Having second thoughts about trying to fight me, Little Miss Feisty?"

--

"Ahhh, Nathaniel. Glad you could join me."

Intimidated by the prince's booming voice, Nathaniel nervously twisted his little cap in his hands. How was he ever going to tell his master, his friend that the man's dear, dear bride was about to be killed? And that _he _was helping?

Edward clapped his buddy on the back.

"Oh, hello, sire," Nathaniel said, with a half smile.

"I had the most amazing night last night."

"At the ball?'

He cleared his throat. His voice had suddenly acquired a little, unintentional, hitch to it.

"Yes – but afterward, especially."

Nathaniel laughed nervously.

"Sire," he admitted, before Edward went on, "I didn't come here to talk to you about your amazing night – much as I would enjoy it," he added, lying through his teeth. "I came here to tell – to tell you…"

Edward raised an eyebrow. "What?"

"That I would like you to go troll-hunting with me tomorrow to talk about it, when I have more time," Nathaniel said, with a small smile.


	10. The Lecture

Love at First Song

**Love at First Song**

Chapter Ten: The Lecture

"I just can't believe her," Pip ranted. "Did you _see_ her? Looking in the mirror at herself practically _naked_, parading around like a proud peacock." He looked quickly at a peacock in the middle of preening itself. "Sorry, Pete." He stopped to regain his composure. "She's selfish, and vain, and… she's a _woman_," he concluded, looking absolutely scandalized.

All of the animals glanced around at each other, wide-eyed. They had no idea what he was talking about.

Pip, being the eldest and obviously most mature of the animals, sighed in exasperation. He clasped his paws together, trying to think of a way to put it delicately. Be discreet.

"Let's just say," he whispered loudly, "that Giselle wasn't exactly telling us the truth when she was talking about the whole lips thing."

The congregation of creatures exchanged looks of confusion and began whispering amongst each other.

"No matter," Pip said quickly, realizing forcing these young animals to comprehend the matters of adulthood was probably foolish, and solved none of his problems. "You'll get it later."

"But Pip…"

"_What_?" he snapped at Stormy Squirrel.

"I miss her," came the miserable reply.

"Whooo?" asked Mr. Owl.

"Giselle," Faith replied knowingly, twining a comforting hoof around Stormy. "Me too."

"We can still see her," someone said with a snort. "She's not dead, ya know."

"No," Pip said cautiously. "She's not dead. But at least when we thought so, we could remember her the way she was. As Giselle. Now she's somebody different."

He looked out the window of their little hollow-tree hideout, heaving a great sigh.

"She's dead to me."

--

Giselle, still quite distraught over the apparent end to her and Pip's friendship, shuffled through the hallways with her head down. The dress she had begged for made her feel all exposed, and worst of all, it blended with the walls, and the carpet. She wished she had just listened to Pip. Pip was always right.

"Oh, well. It's always nice to make new friends," she said halfheartedly to herself.

She hadn't meant to be so hurtful towards him and all of her other forest animal friends. She was so confused. She thought her place had been with Edward. But now it appeared otherwise. Growing up with her animal friends had been wonderful, but _they_ didn't belong in a castle. So she felt that, perhaps, she might not either. She found herself stuck somewhere in limbo between her old life and her new one, wishing that she could be in them both comfortably instead of discouraged from living in either.

A sudden shriek thrust her from the wall. Startled, she instinctively flattened herself in the wall. _Camouflage is a very important defense mechanism_, Faith reminded her.

"Oh my," she whispered, hearing another cry. "That sounded like Aurora."

Frightened but nonetheless determined to protect her young friend, Giselle pushed open the nearest door.

"Giselle!" Aurora screamed. "No!"

"Oh. Princess," Queen Narissa said, looking up and feigning surprise. Her hand was poised dangerously close to Aurora's throat, and a loud hum of electricity buzzed through her fingers. "What a pleasant surprise. Aurora here has just been _dying_ to see you." She cackled before blasting the girl with a bolt of electricity that threw her against the wall.

"Leave her alone," Giselle said coldly, her tone commanding despite her hammering heart.

"Oh, my dear. Rule number one: never question your superiors," Narissa chided, her voice dripping with fake sympathy. "You have so much to learn." She paused. "Too bad you'll never get the chance."

Giselle took a hesitant step back, inhaling sharply as her back bumped against a wall. She couldn't escape now.

"Aurora has been such a great help to me. You see, now that I have _her_, I also have _you_. While it wouldn't make much sense to let either of you go – not that you could escape, anyway – I know how much your poor little heart is aching to make an exchange. So, what do you say?"

Looking to Aurora, Giselle's eyes searched hers.

"Don't do it, Giselle. I'm okay," she said weakly, cowering in the corner.

"You took me away from all of my forest friends. I'm not going to let you take my new friend from me now," she said, straightening up and regaining the ground she'd lost by stepping back.

"No! Giselle! You're making a mistake!" Aurora cried, struggling to get to her feet before collapsing in a heap to the floor.

"Bravo," Narissa applauded her, grinning wickedly. "Get out of here, you little wretch."

She lifted the small girl in some sort of electric bubble, forced open the door, and tossed her out.

"Finally. It's just you and me." She looked with disdain upon the men, still on the floor. "Well, except for them." She kicked one of the men, who only uttered a faint moan. "Now I can talk to you alone."

Trembling slightly but trying to hide it, Giselle clenched her hands into fists behind her back. What was this? A session of queenly confession?

"You think you have it all under control, don't you?" she snapped. "You put my son under your little spell. All your little animals adore you. And the whole town shows up to your funeral. You can thank me for that, by the way. I cast a little spell on you. And that tea was poisoned. These two men here were hired to kill you. But the idiots captured the wrong girl. I suppose if you want something done right, you have to do it yourself."  
"You tried to kill me?" Giselle gasped in surprise. "But—why? I wanted to be friends with you."

The queen laughed cruelly.

"Me? Friends with a forest rat with you? I'm afraid your brain is a little addled from all that wine last night, Princess. The only reason I was nice to you was because I was trying to gain your trust, so I could rip it away," she said, in a voice that was inhumanely calm given the subject matter.

"Why are you telling me all this?"

"Nobody else will listen," she replied simply. "Though, I must say, I have that fat fellow wrapped right around my finger." She zapped a spot on the floor with this finger to emphasize. "Besides, it doesn't really matter. I'm going to kill you anyway."

Past the point of being in fear for her life, Giselle was determined to try and find out the evil queen's reasoning.

"What do you want, Narissa?" Giselle demanded, inching forth bravely until her face was only centimeters away from the queen's.

"I want my kingdom back," she snarled. "I know where this is going. The seemingly sweet little peasant girl shows up, and then just when I think all is going well, she stabs me in the back."

"I would never—"

"Don't lie to me! I've consulted my mirror, my magic orb, and all of the town quacks. All along you've been plotting against me."

"They were just telling you what you wanted to hear!" Giselle cried accusingly, surprised that the voice speaking these hateful words was her own. "They were too scared of you to say otherwise." She raised her chin a notch. "I may not be as smart as you, Narissa, but I know the real fake. And it's you. You just wanted an excuse to get rid of me, just so you could crush the dreams of the townspeople and have no one to stand up to you."

"How _dare_ you!" Narissa shrieked, smacking Giselle across the face.

Collapsing at the force of the blow, Giselle lay still on the floor for a moment, in a daze. Before she knew it, Narissa was standing over her, one finger arched at a frightening angle, jolts of blue firing from it unpredictably.

"Anything else you would like to say to me, _Princess_?"

Weakly, Giselle pushed herself up to her elbows. Apparently surprised at this small show of strength, Narissa took a step back.

"Yes. There is."

Narissa's eyes narrowed.

"You may be able to defeat me. But when the whole kingdom stands up to you and finally revokes your evil ways, you will be the one who is – how do you say it? – _taken down_."

"Oh, dear, you really do have quite a small mind, don't you?" Narissa sighed. "I suppose you need to be shown what big really looks like."

She took a step back and lifted her head to the sky.

"Speciosus formosus _praeclarus_!"

Giselle gasped as Narissa suddenly grew larger and larger, transforming into a horrific but beautiful dragon. Her giant head easily broke through the stone ceiling of the castle. She shook it off and looked down at the tiny princess with a toothy smile.

"Look at that. The roof comes right off. Nice feature."

Horrified, Giselle shrunk back against the wall, doing the best she could to make herself invisible. She had known Narissa was a witch, but this was insane.

"Oh, so now the brave princess is scared of a little lizard?"

She threw her head back and cackled.

Closing her eyes, Giselle pressed herself against the wall.

"Oh, my."


	11. The Fear

Love at First Song

**Love at First Song**

Chapter Eleven: The Fear

Thinking furiously, Giselle's eyes darted to the wall of potion bottles. Most of them had fallen to the floor during Narissa's dramatic transformation. One glinted in the sunshine. Giselle's eyes lit up.

_Invisibility_.

If she could just get to it without attracting the attention of the beast looming overhead, she'd be safe.

She dropped to her knees and leaned as far as she could towards the bottle. But just as her outstretched hand could almost grasp it, a burst of flame from above destroyed it, along with any hope or chance she had of getting out alive.

--

Rattled by the fall and still frightened for Giselle, Aurora got to her feet and stumbled off in the general direction of the woods. One thought ran over and over in her mind: _I have to find Prince Edward. I have to find Prince Edward._ The pain Narissa had inflicted upon her had battered her body, and she moved almost mechanically, driven by some deep inner instinct. Maybe she would eventually go numb.

"And just where do you think you're going?"

Aurora froze. Her breath caught in her throat.

"Just because she let you out doesn't mean you're safe, little servant girl," someone announced from behind her in a high whine that could only belong to one person in the castle. "As soon as she's finished with the princess, you're up."

She whirled around. Her advancing attacker was none other than the castle's head cook.

"Louie," she growled. "I always knew I couldn't trust you."

"Stop talking!" the chef groaned in annoyance. "Of course _I _had to be the one who dealt with the little brat." He glared her. "Now come nicely, or be punished."

For the moment, Aurora decided, it would be best to be obedient. Her legs were still too wobbly to escape.

"So, you're all working together – is that it?"

"I thought I told you to shut up," Louie snapped, roughly snagging her elbow and half-dragging her down the hall.

"You did," she replied breezily.

"I also told you to come nicely."

"I am," she scolded, wrenching her arm free and falling into step with him before he could get angry.

She allowed herself to be led up the same dark back stairwell she had used with Giselle. They continued up the steps until they were apparently on the top floor of the castle. Louie heaved open a large door and forced Aurora inside. Then he bound her and sat her in a corner, facing the wall.

"Don't even think about yelling for help," he threatened when finished. He clenched his fat fingers into meaty fists and pounded them into each other in a gesture that Aurora supposed was meant to be frightening. She hid a snort of laughter with a sneeze.

She hoped Giselle was okay. She remembered the first time they'd met – when Giselle had summoned the animals to her side with a song.

She sat upright. _That's it_.

"I can't talk?" she repeated, for clarification.

Louie, beady eyes fixed on her, nodded.

"Can I sing?"

He looked at her doubtfully but slowly nodded again. "If it means you will stop talking."

--

"Arrrgh!"

After several unsuccessful attempts to grab Giselle, the giant dragon was growing frustrated. Her large claws were too big to maneuver properly in the small room, and, due to her (mostly) human nature, her fire-breathing powers were limited in their reach. To make things worse, it was difficult to move about at all in the room at her size. Perhaps her plan could have been more refined before putting it into action.

"Coward!" she accused as she turned, knocking over a section of the room's wall accidentally with her giant tail. "Don't make me destroy this castle on account of you!"

Giselle said nothing and remained huddling in the corner as the earth shook with the dragon's bellows. She knew that if Narissa were provoked, she would stop at nothing to make sure she was avenged. And while the queen's castle was a precious commodity as a place to live, entertain, and impress, it meant more to her to get rid of Giselle. And this was frightening.

"I know you're in here, Giselle…"

The princess found it slightly reassuring that, with her head so far above the ground, Narissa could not clearly see her.

She roared again. This time, a spell was being said. And then the dragon was gone.

Giselle gasped. The advantages of invisibility were apparently twofold.

It was less frightening having the dragon there than not knowing where she was.

--

While his beloved was in considerable peril, Edward was with Nathaniel. They were on a jaunt along the meandering forest trail, having a lively conversation with each other about nothing in particular.

"Do you yet desire the heart of a woman, Nathaniel?"

"Well, there is one," he admitted.

Edward grinned with excitement. "Who is it, my friend? I must know."

"Oh, no. I really can't say."

His face darkened slightly with disappointment.

"Why, she must be too shy to reciprocate your feelings," he guessed, thinking that Nathaniel was just embarrassed that his little girlfriend didn't like him back to reveal her identity. "Or, she hasn't the sense to see how loveable you are." He tousled Nathaniel's hair and upsetting his cap. Nathaniel carefully replaced it and smiled sadly.

"It would seem, sire."

But he knew he was not lovable at all – not in the eyes of Narissa; nor should he be in those of the prince he was betraying. He was not loveable. Only despicable.

"My Giselle is the most wonderful maiden in all of the land," Edward was saying.

Nathaniel cringed inwardly. "Of course, sire." He smiled brightly – or at least tried to. "That's why she married you."

Edward beamed. "Why, thank you, Nathaniel!" He clapped his friend on the back. "Always the charmer. _If you also search so far and wide, Nathaniel, you'll get a pretty bride. If one of these you too can find, you shall have joy and peace of miiiiiiiiind_—"

"Oh, sire, you mustn't sing," Nathaniel lied quickly. "The trolls could hear."

"Oh – of course, Nathaniel. Always one step ahead." His voice dropped to a whisper and he gave the surrounding forest a cursory glance. "What would I do without you?"

Forcing himself to smile, he replied, "I just don't know."

--

"Ahhhhhh…"

Aurora was trying. Really she was. But when she tried to sustain a note, she sounded more like she was having her tongue pulled out while she was trying to say something. She'd never sung before in her life. Only happy people sang. She was not generally a happy person. And she was obviously receiving no response from the animals.

She cleared her throat loudly.

"Sorry," she said to Louie. "I'm a little hoarse today."

Frankly, she didn't care if Louie thought she was an idiot. He already did, anyway. And she didn't have to show any respect to him. He didn't deserve it. She frowned and tried again.

"Ahh-ahh-ahh…"

Maybe Giselle just had the magic touch. Was there a certain number of notes you had to sing to get an answer?

"Ah-ah-ah-ah-ah!"

She craned her neck. That time, she'd sounded better.

_Please… please…_

But there was nothing.

"Enough!" Louie moaned from the other side of the room. He had been pacing around and was now out of Aurora's line of sight. "I have a headache from all of this useless yapping."

"What are you so impatient for? Waiting to get rid of me?" she asked, her voice almost sticky with artificial sweetness.

"That is exactly what I am waiting for," he snarled, unaffected.

Aurora did not have to look at him to know that he was squinting and scrunching up his nose. He always did this when he got a headache. And he always got a headache when she was stressed. Too bad it wasn't any worse. She kept talking.

"What is it that all of you have against Giselle anyway?" she asked.

Louie glared at her back, even though she couldn't see it.

"The queen says she is part of a conspiracy to overthrow her." He squinted harder. The pain of the headache wasn't diminishing.

"Why would you think that?" Aurora snapped, genuinely frustrated.

"The queen said so."

"Have you always listened to everything she's said and believed it?"

The chef paused. "Well, yes."

Aurora groaned.

Now that she had lost his interest, he forbade her to speak again. "I am so tired of you and your little babblings," he muttered, leaning heavily against the wall, his eyes fully closed now.

Finally, Aurora was quiet. She knew she could only wait for help to arrive. But as she turned to watch Louie, something bright reflected in the sunshine that streamed through the tiny hole of a window that perforated the stone wall. Her heart leapt into her throat as her mind lurched into recognition. It was a butcher knife.

She couldn't wait for long.


	12. The Rescue

Love at First Song

**Love at First Song**

Chapter Twelve: The Rescue

"Ah-ah-ah…"

"PIP!"

Somebody flew over Pip's head and ripped away the blanket he'd wrapped himself in out from under him, unrolling him and sending him tumbling to the floor. Slowly waking, he began to complain.

"Real funny, guys," he grunted, stretching the muscles that he had strained during his unceremonious landing.

All of the animals looked at each other in alarm until Faith the fawn stepped forward. She had become the forest animals' new, unofficial leader since Pip's disownment of Giselle had led to a quick demise. Still, no one else had told him this, and, out of habit, whenever something needed to be done, he still had to be consulted. Or at least _told_. And, as the bravest and best leader of the animals, it was Faith's job to do so.

"That sounded like Giselle," she announced loudly, as if the other animals hadn't already heard. Her voice faded unsuccessfully and quite noticeably into an odd and unnatural monotone that was supposed to indicate disinterest.

"And?"

Pip quickly returned to his bed – minus the blanket, which was currently sprawled across the dirt floor of the large hollow-tree – and rolled over to face the wall, intending to tend the short conversation. But his fellow forest creatures were not deterred.

"But what if she's in trouble?"

Exasperated by the continued babbling, Pip turned back over.

"She can take care of herself now. She's a big girl, remember?" His voice rose slightly and a note of bitterness entered it. "Or, better yet, she can call her big, strong, precious Prince Edward to help."

"The prince and his assistant are out on a troll hunt in the forest," Harry Hawk had observed during his morning flight.

"And how do I know she's in trouble? Or that she even called?"

For all he knew, the animals were just looking for an excuse to get into the castle and make off with some of its supply of wonderful food. It sounded like a good little plan to him, but he didn't want to risk an encounter with his now-ex-best-friend. And he, being the animals' leader and all, could not let this new game of interrupting his necessary beauty sleep go unexcused.

And then, a second, perhaps more desperate, session of faint notes blew in on the breeze. Faith met Pip's eyes pointedly.

"Well… well…"

He had run out of excuses.

"Pip, really," came the gentle scold of wise Mama Bear. "Must you do this? Please stop. You're acting quite childish. Giselle is growing up." She paused and filled her massive furry chest with air, puffing it up and raising her head to a regal pose and signifying that she was about to say something important. "And I think all of us here think that perhaps you should make an effort to, too."

Pip frowned. So that's how it was gonna be, huh? Everyone gangin' up on him… He rubbed the thin fur on his arms as if rolling up some sort of invisible sleeves.

"All right, all right. Fine. But you'll all see. And then you'll be sorry."

Some indistinguishable mumblings followed, and all of the animals filed out of the strangely giant oak.

--

"It came from in here!"

Aurora, who had been trying to remain auspicious, had begun to quietly doze off when she heard frenzied calling from outside. She jolted awake and dared to look at Louie, who was also aware of the noises. Just as she had suspected, he withdrew a giant knife from his apron pocket and held it up in a threatening position.

"Did you call someone while I wasn't paying attention?" he asked, using his free hand to lift Aurora by the collar of her thin dress, ropes and all, from the floor.

"N-no," she stammered in response, trembling at the close proximity of the knife to her throat. "I didn't. I swear it."

"You must have. Somebody is out there," Louie insisted, dropping Aurora and using his hand to gesture to the tiny window. "Don't lie to me, you little brat. I'm the one with the advantage."

He flashed the knife before her face, and she swallowed hard.

Watching in shock, Aurora saw Louie step away and raise the knife. Then he pressed it hard into his fat thumb. She gasped, waiting as quite visible drops of blood pearled on his thumb. She was surprised that he seemed unhurt. He only seemed pleased.

"Nice and sharp," he said, sucking the blood from his thumb and stroking the handle of the knife almost lovingly.

Aurora shuddered and pressed herself against the wall, feeling the ropes that bound her scratch her with every movement, every breath. They were a constant reminder of her helplessness. She looked back at the window. Whoever had come to save her had better know what they were doing.

And then her rescuers fluttered in.

"_Birds_?" Louie cried incredulously, swinging his knife violently through the air and bringing it down on whatever he could. Fortunately for the animals, he was a cook and not a knight, and he was quickly pecked into submission without any harm to them.

"You're not Giselle," said a tiny bluebird, finally noticing Aurora.

"Did you call us?" asked another bird.

"I did," Aurora said, standing. "Giselle's in trouble. And you're the only ones who can save her."

All of the birds looked at each other in concern and uncertainty.

"Where is she? How can we help?"

"She's downstairs in the queen's secret room," Aurora replied. "Do you know where that is?"  
No, they said they did not.

"Oh, dear." Aurora painstakingly got to her feet and tried to concentrate all of her energy into freeing herself. And while she struggled valiantly against the bonds, it was to no avail.

"I would show you if I could," she said, meekly.

"Hold on. We'll be right back," said one of the larger, apparently older, birds.

After a moment, the birds returned, but not empty-handed. Each of them held in their talons a small squirrel that they had carried up from outside of the sheer castle walls.

Aurora looked at them in horror. "I'm not hungry, thank you!"

"No, no." The animals laughed at her as if she were totally obtuse. "We don't do that sort of thing. They're here to help you."

While all of the sharp-toothed little squirrels bounded toward her and Aurora closed her eyes, the birds made sure that Louie was "out" and that his knife was safely out of reach. Aurora looked up to see all of the little rodents biting in earnest at the ropes that engulfed her.

"Oh my goodness," she said, realizing immediately that she'd sounded almost exactly like Giselle. "I mean—thank you. I promise as soon as I'm out of this, we can go get Gis—"

Before she could even finish her sentence, the ropes fell away. She wiggled her wrists and giggled happily.

"—we can go get Giselle," she finished.

"Let's go! C'mon!" All of the birds and squirrels chorused. "The other animals are coming in through the front door of the castle right now."

Stepping over the still-unconscious Louie cautiously, everybody burst through the large doors and hurried down the steep stone steps. They needed to hurry. If Giselle was in there alone with Narissa, she didn't have much time.

--

Giselle was keeping a constant vigil out for any sign of Narissa when, suddenly, something blocked out the sunlight. She looked up, shielding her eyes, and saw a roiling purple mass of glittering darkness. It looked rather like somebody had spread gold in grape juice. …And then taken the cup, shaken it up, and tossed its contents haphazardly onto the ceiling. But there was no ceiling. And the mass was _moving_.

She blanched. There was only one explanation for this. Once again, Narissa had changed shape.

The most frightening thing of all was that the cloud could apparently speak. It was saying something that Giselle couldn't hear – perhaps even more frightening – and slowly descending.

Coughing, she tried to wave away the thick cloud, but as it came closer and closer to her, it grew more oppressive, and the impressive force of her arm became feebler. Narissa was suffocating her, little by little, and she couldn't escape. She was losing all of her strength when her knees crumpled beneath her and she fell to the floor.

The cloud began to laugh.

"You thought you could defeat me, you insolent wretch?" She muttered a spell and turned back into her normal, human form. "I guess I'll just have to tell everyone that the stress of being a new princess was too much for you. With all of your new duties, you just _couldn't breathe_." She threw her head back, laughing cruelly again, and kicked Giselle in a final show of her obvious superiority. She realized this was probably rather undignified, but no one was watching her: the two men who had been paralyzed on the floor had also been unable to breathe in her cloud, and had succumbed to her just like Giselle. Then she used her powers to lift all of the misplaced bricks and debris and return them to their original position, successfully rebuilding the room. It looked as if nothing had ever happened.

"Nothing ever happened," she repeated quietly, closing the door behind her and returning to the throne room that would now and forever belong only to her.


	13. The Fire

Love at First Song

**Love at First Song**

Chapter Thirteen: The Fire

"I say, Nathaniel, this troll of yours is nowhere to be seen," Edward said with a frown, putting his hand to his forehead to shield his eyes from the blinding sunlight that splayed itself over the forest like fingers. "We've been looking all morning. Are you sure there really _is_ one?"

"Of course, sire. Our noble queen warned me about it this morning," he lied, mopping at his brow with his little hat.

Lowering his hand, Edward again took hold of his horse's reins. "I think we might as well head back to the castle. There's nothing here," he decided.

"If you say so."

Satisfied, the prince clucked to Destiny, who moved into an easy jog. Nathaniel ran on alongside them, feeling heated. Was it the warmth of the day that was causing his cheeks to feel flushed? Or was it the burn of sin in his own heart?

"Wait a minute."

Nathaniel's head snapped up, sure that he had been caught. Perhaps the prince had been able to read his mind and see the guilty thoughts swirling about within.

"Nathaniel, what is that?"

Gulping down a breath, he turned to look at the spot where Edward was pointing. There was a something giant and purple. And very much like something he'd seen before. He looked back at the prince.

"Sire… there's something I have to tell you."

His throat burned, and then he looked up through the glaring sunshine at the face of the prince that was about to hate him.

--

"Oh, which door is it?!"

The animals were crying out, half-running and half-falling down the stairwell, bumping into every door and trying in all futility to open them with their useless paws and hooves. Funny, how they could make a dress but not grasp a door knob.

"Here. Let me help you."

Aurora pulled at the giant handles of the doors, slamming one shut and leaning against it heavily as someone – presumably one of Narissa's guards – cried out from behind it.

They kept running. To keep her mind from going to a place she didn't want it to, she counted the number of stairs that she had gone over. But as the number rose, so multiplied the number of the dark ideas in her head. What had happened to Giselle? Had it been Narissa, in person? Had she been poisoned? Hit over the head? _Eaten_ by some foul beast?

"Run faster," she choked out, yanking harder on the doors.

"This is the right floor," called out a little dove from above.

"How do you know?" someone asked.

The dove shrugged – well, if a dove could shrug and fly simultaneously. "I suppose I just know where to land."

"Giselle's nearby! I can smell her!"

The other animals chorused similar observations, and Aurora ran the heel of her hand against the rough walls of the castle in passing, just to focus on something other than her awful thoughts.

"Hurry. Hurry," she managed. "Which door is it?"

A troupe of friendly bears, skunks, badgers, and other creatures with a keen sense of smell went out, sniffing diligently, their little noses pressed to the ground.

"This one!"

Adrenaline was pulsing through every vein of each of the creatures. They knew how imperative it was to find Giselle before Narissa did. But as Aurora stopped short in front of the place where Giselle was supposed to be, she saw only a solid wall in front of her. There was no door, no passageway inside. No entry. No chance.

The other animals' faces displayed similar despair.

"What do we do now?" a bear cub wailed.

Mama Bear looked up. "She's right here, I promise you. We just need to—"

At that, she grunted and forced her massive weight against the wall. With impressive force, she managed to make a dent in it. But nothing else.

"Everybody else, join in!" came the cry.

Soon, everybody was ramming into the wall, even the most diminutive of the forest animals. Aurora bent and ran at the wall until her shoulder was so bruised that tears pricked at the backs of her eyes.

"We'll find her. Really we will," murmured a fat little bear cub named Roly. "Don't be discouraged, Aurora."

Aurora smiled gamely at him and rumpled the fur on his head to thank him for the bit of encouragement. She hadn't even realized that the true cause of her pain was not her shoulder at all.

"Keep trying, everyone!" Mama Bear was saying. No one else was giving up. Still nursing one shoulder, Aurora used the other to batter the wall.

"Look! Look!"

Finally, to everyone's relief, the wall was beginning to show the faintest sign of a crack. It must have been built to be quite sturdy to withstand such force. Aurora wondered what could possibly be behind that wall that was so important to hide from the world.

"One more time!" Aurora said enthusiastically, even while pain ran up and down her body like a flame.

As one, the group of creatures backed up, and for a final time ran into the giant wall. It crumbled with a groan at their feet. And when the animals had finished coughing and the dust had cleared, a prize lay at their feet.

"Giselle!"

Ignoring the other two men laying on the floor, all of the animals crowded around the princess.

"Lying down on the job again?" Aurora joked, kneeling at her side.

"Giselle?"

The festive mood at finding the princess apparently well darkened immediately. Something was very wrong. Mama Bear stepped closer for better inspection, and though she said nothing as she moved away, her face revealed it all. Everyone knew that Giselle wasn't really asleep. And this time, it wasn't just a spell that could be fixed by true love's kiss. There was no more breath in her lungs.

"She… she's dead?"

"Truly?"

"No," Aurora said fiercely, fisting her hands and quickly straightening up to face the despairing animals. "No, she _mustn't_ be. She's too strong for Narissa to get her like this. She's not a normal princess." She paused. "It's not my fault this time. You know, it never really my fault. But if we do lose her now, I will forever blame myself. And I'm not going to let that happen."

Hot tears began to stream down her cheeks. The princess couldn't be – _wasn't_, she told herself – dead. She turned towards the animals.

"All of you, go find Prince Edward. Now!"

--

Pip stayed behind, feeling, more than anything else, very ashamed. _He _had been the one who was being selfish, and vain, and terrible, and unlikable… And what cruel irony was this, that he had proclaimed her dead, and now she was?

For a long moment, he just sat there by the fallen princess, wishing that he could touch her again, that everything could be back to normal: she could come back to the tree house, and they would be best friends again. There would be no Edward, no Narissa, no interruptions. Just him, and her. And maybe the other animals, too.

He ran his hand up and down her smooth face, stopping at the gentle slope of her nose. What was that?

Of course, only someone of his size could have seen it: the tiny, glittery residue gathered at the base of Giselle's nostril. It was purple, and dark, and thick. And he knew it should not be there. He paused, letting himself dare to hope that this was the problem, and that if he removed it, all could be fixed. He had to think that. If he didn't, how could he ever forgive himself for all of the horrible things he had thought of her? Said of her?

Without giving it another thought, he reached up and pulled at the goo. "Ew," he muttered, before he could stop himself. He apologized quickly. "Sorry about that, Giselle." He looked at her again, at how much more normal and natural she looked. "Better?"

He inserted his (clean) paw into the tiny slot left by her parted lips. It fit perfectly, as if it belonged there. He wondered, _what was the last thing she said_? Did she try to defend herself from the onslaught of this stuff?

"I wish I could make you breathe." It was stupid, he realized, but maybe, it wasn't. He removed his paw and put his tiny snout there instead, and puffed as hard as he could, breathing his sweet nutty breath into her still mouth. "Giselle, it hurts to let you go again. I'm so sorry, an'… an'…"

And then, the slightest movement of the chest. Pip's eyes widened and he leaned back down, puffing with more gusto.

"Aurora! Guys!" he cried out, seeing everybody return. Edward and Nathaniel were also there, but he chose not to address them. "She's not dead, after all!"

"That girl," Mama Bear managed, her throat closing. "Always trying to fool us."

Pip kept trying to resuscitate Giselle, until he was exhausted, and sure that she could breathe on her own. He collapsed onto her chest, relieved to feel it moving again.

"Oh my goodness" – the first words out of the princess' mouth.

And the second: "I wasn't really dead. I promise."

(This was met by laughs and looks.)

And the third: "Pip! You're… you're…"

"Handsome? Brave? Wonderful?" Pip filled in, before becoming out of breath again and simply smiling at her.

"You're _here_," Giselle murmured, kissing his little head. "But… all of those things too."

"I'm here as well, my love!" Edward boomed, pushing the animals aside to get to his princess. He lifted her to his chest and smothered her with a kiss, clutching her as if he was not planning on ever again releasing her.

"Of course you are, Edward," Giselle said with a small smile, fighting anyway for her freedom and perhaps a spare breath.

"So, what happened this time?" Faith asked, curious but not unkind.

"It was terrible!" Giselle cried, her eyes widening as if she were suddenly recalling something from long ago. "Edward, I'm sorry. But I can't hide it anymore!" Her chest heaved – from it, a great burden was being lifted. "Your mother… she-she's a witch. And she tried to kill me! She was a woman, and then a dragon, and then a cloud. And she went in me and through me, and she… she…"

"Shhh. We know," Aurora soothed her. "Nathaniel already told us everything." She looked at the big man, standing uncomfortably by a wall. "I knew he was up to something."

"I wish it didn't have to be this way," Edward said, softly. "But we must go. As much as I love my mother, it isn't safe here anymore."

"Come to the treehouse!" Pip volunteered, more to Giselle than Edward. "We'd love to have her! I mean, you." He smiled sheepishly, and the prince, thinking he was being sincere, returned the grin.

Suddenly, a great voice boomed from up above. For a moment, no one dared to look.

"I'm not your mother," came the voice of Narissa, the queen, the dragon who had killed Edward's father. "And you're not going anywhere."


	14. The Battle

Love at First Song

**Love at First Song**

Chapter Fourteen: The Battle

**Quickie A/N: I'm baaaaaack… Ha ha. So, it's been about six months since I updated any of my stories and I'm sure all of you hate me for it. (I hate myself a little bit too.) But in any case, my life has been absurdly busy, and you have a problem with it, I would like you to trade places with me because I'm sure if you have the time to be roaming around on here, your life is much less stressful than mine. ******** I will not guarantee that this story will be updated again any time soon. But I had a free hour, so I thought, why not? Anyway, here it is. Review… or not.**

"Mother," Edward growled, standing. "What do you think you're doing?"

"Relax, darling. Just move aside." She looked at him, watching expectantly as he took a hesitant sidestep. "That's it. A little more…"

"Don't move another inch, sire," Nathaniel said, from Edward's right. "She's going to incinerate your bride."

Torn, Edward looked at his old friend.

"She's going to _what_?"

"Don't listen to that old buffoon, my dear. I'm your mother!" Narissa wheedled from above.

"Step-mother," whispered Nathaniel. (Seeing as just a moment ago she had said as much.)

Aurora, still standing protectively over Giselle, looked back up at the horrific dragon and stood her ground. She would, however, feel a little better if Edward would come back towards her…

"Wait a minute."

Giselle's gaze went to the dragon. Narissa was a witch. A power-hungry, blood-thirsty sort of witch. And she was currently a large purple dragon.

"_Edward_."

Her voice was so beseeching that her husband had to look at her. He knelt. "What is it, my love?"

"The dragon," she gasped. "The dragon in the forest. It's her, Edward. _Narissa killed your father_."

Edward blanched.

"What?"

He looked, furious, at Nathaniel. "Is what my bride says true, old friend? Is this the dragon that killed my father?"

Nathaniel bowed his head but was silent.

"You!" He raised a trembling finger in Narissa's general direction.

"How… how _dare_ you!" Overcome with grief and rage, he let the tide of emotion overcome him as he let more accusations fly. "You killed my father!"

The dragon's giant head snaked in closer. "You have no proof. Why would you listen to a bunch of rodents, a half-witted girl, and a grumpy old man instead of the woman who has taken care of you for so long?"

"You tried to kill Giselle," the prince hissed. "And that, I have proof of." He looked pointedly at the slime, which matched the sheen of Narissa's glistening purple scales, that surrounded Giselle on the floor and stuck to parts of her dress. "Why wouldn't you do the same to another threat to the throne, that wasn't even yours to begin with? He was a good man – honest, and wise, and loved by his people! You will never be as good as he was. I… I…" He knelt down, sobbing, and pressed his fist into the ground.

"All right. It's true," Narissa finally roared, a plume of fire billowing from her open jaws. Everyone gasped at the confession despite all of the earlier suspicions.

Edward struggled to regain his composure. "You've taken my throne, ruined my castle. First my father, then the happiness of his people… and then, almost, Giselle. What more can you take away from me?"

Narissa raised a giant, dragon-ish eyebrow and he felt suddenly that he shouldn't have asked.

"Your life, my darling, if you don't move aside."

Startled by her audacity, Edward stood and drew himself up to his full height. "No. I am not your _anything_, and I shall not move!"

He went back towards Giselle and sat at her side resolutely. He squeezed her hand and she gave him a small smile in return. Aurora sighed in relief. But the battle was not over.

"Nathaniel!" Narissa boomed. "You fool! You have betrayed me. I thought I could trust you."

He lifted his face to the cruel form of the dragon, shielding his eyes with his hand from the bright rays of sun that framed her like some ironic halo. "I have done nothing to you, Narissa, that you have not done a thousand times worse to me and your people."

In response, the dragon shrieked. With each decibel her voice rose, the sky seemed to further darken.

"Don't you know all the things that I have done for you? Are you too stupid to understand? Stephen was an idiot – he would never have been able to run this kingdom like he was trying to. I did you a favor," she spat at Edward. "And I was doing one each time I tried to kill your babbling bride. She was just holding us back."

"_Us_?" Edward repeated incredulously. "Oh, no, Narissa. There has never been an us. Just a you."

Having been carefully paying attention to all that had been said, Aurora crouched next to Giselle. "Shouldn't we be trying to do something?" she whispered, as the louder voices argued.

"I don't know what we could do," Giselle replied uneasily, not removing her eyes from the dragon.

"_We_ could do something," Faith offered.

"Oh, it's no use," Giselle said pitifully, feeling sadder than she had perhaps ever before. The lives of all these wonderful creatures around her that she had come to know and love were about to end, all because of her. "She's too strong for me."

"Nonsense," Aurora said fiercely. "You're still here, aren't you?"

Pip nodded his agreement, and all the other animals looked at her solemnly.

"You're stronger than you think," said someone from within the congregation of animals.

"We must escape," a bluebird chirped nervously.

"You birds are always so flighty. Not all of have wings either," Pip commented. "We oughta fight this thing. End it once and for all."

Roly nodded and puffed out his chest.

"What do you think, Edward?" Giselle asked her prince. "Can we fight her?"

Nathaniel turned to face them and interjected. "Nay, my princess. I fear she has too much firepower at the moment. We would all be made ashes."

Everyone exchanged looks of concern. "Then what can we do?"

Looking thoughtful, Nathaniel glanced at Edward, who was still watching his giant reptilian step-mother and condemning her with his eyes. Narissa was off on a monologue again, only paying attention to her own thoughts. It was the perfect time to make a plan.

"My prince," he said suddenly. "Your sword."

Edward snapped to attention. "What about it?" He looked wary but interested.

"You know," Nathaniel murmured secretively. He made a jabbing gesture with his arm and moved his head in the direction of the dragon.

"Oh my goodness," Giselle gasped, putting her face in her hands. "You couldn't!"

But Edward's face was already set. He hadn't gone on his daily troll hunt this morning, and his arm was already itching with anticipation. "Oh, but I could. There is only one way to repay treason. She will pay for what she did to my father." His eyes hardened. He may not have been brilliant, but he was brave, and he was loyal and determined, all the things that would make him a good knight, and a good king one day furthermore. Despite her worry, and the circumstances, Giselle was proud. "Get out of here, all of you. I must take care of this on my own."

"Nay, my prince. We're in this together," Nathaniel said resolutely. "I…I was a part of this, and now I must fix it."

Edward nodded gratefully and clapped the other man on the back. "Thank you, Nathaniel. But I fear this is something I must do myself. Take care of my bride."

"Edward, my love," Giselle choked, folding herself into his arms and nuzzling into his chest, "oh, do be careful."

He pressed his lips hard against hers. "I love you, Giselle."

She began to cry, and Aurora led her away quickly. The animals all followed quickly, and escaped out of the hole in the wall that had been made earlier. From far above, Narissa did not notice as she continued her pointless monologuing.

"Narissa!" Edward interrupted. "Down here!"

Her beady eyes focused in. "Haven't I taught you better than to interrupt your superior while they are speaking?"

"I have," Edward agreed. "Now it's your turn to learn a lesson!"

With that, he swiftly drew his sword and rushed forth. The battle was on!

Narissa was so surprised that he would actually have the mind to do this that she did not have time to move aside before he had thrust his sword deep into one of her scaly legs. With a roar of surprise, she wrenched away, leaving Edward swordless, and defenseless. The sword still in place, she used her good front claw to sweep him off his feet and throw him into the hard stone wall. Dazed, he lay still.

"Ha! You thought you could defeat me? You and your father made the same mistake. And you will die the same way."

She reared back and opened her cruel jaws, about to let loose a spurt of flame, when something struck her in the chest.

"Oh, Narissa. Father always knew that your vanity would hurt you someday."

"You insolent child!" she shrieked, trying to clutch at the dagger that had penetrated her breast, but having no success due to the size and sharpness of her claws. Edward's hunting dagger may have been small, but it was also very sharp. She was sorely tempted to return to human form, but knew it would be her undoing. Perhaps she had been wrong to send Edward on all of those troll hunts. He knew a thing or two about sword-fighting. And, it seemed, intervening. The distraction of the sword, and then the use of the dagger, was – she grudgingly admitted – rather brilliant. Who knew he would have turned out to be such a little fighter?

"Are you ready to give up yet, Narissa?"

"N…never," she managed. Her breaths were growing ragged.

Using this moment of weakness to his advantage, Edward staggered to his feet and retrieved his sword. He cringed at the cry of pain Narissa emitted.

"I'll give you one more chance, witch," he offered generously. "Surrender now and admit to your treachery, and you will not be killed."

Partially due to indecision and partially due to shortness of breath, Narissa paused. If she let him believe that she was sorry, maybe she could regroup and try again one day. She would still have her powers. But they would take her throne, and her influence, and any trust they had for her would also be gone. And she was too proud to prostate herself before the stepson she considered to be stupid, who was just now about to defeat her. No. She would rather die than submit.

In answer, she raised her head and blew a ring of fire into the dark sky.

Edward raised his sword, somewhat reluctantly. "You had your chance."

Everyone turned away – Nathaniel out of respect, most of the animals out of fear, Aurora out of disgust, and Giselle out of sadness – while Edward prepared himself to kill his own stepmother. But he did not look at her in such a way anymore. She was a man-eating beast, a threat to his family and his kingdom, as well as his own life. He plunged his trusty sword deep into her heart and then looked away himself. Although weakened, she died proudly and nobly, as most villains – and queens – do. Her body returned to human form, while overhead, the sky cleared instantly.

Edward turned slowly, feeling triumphant and utterly ashamed simultaneously. He also felt deeply, deeply tired. The emotional events of the day were much more than he was used to, or could normally comprehend, and he was exhausted. Just as he did after every hunt, he clapped Nathaniel on the back. Then he ran to Giselle and collapsed into her arms, feeling the full weight of what he had just done.

"Giselle, my love," he sighed wearily. "I'm quite tired. Might we go home now?"

She could have cried at the simplicity of his request given all they had just gone through. Instead, she smiled. "That sounds perfectly wonderful, my dearest." She was also feeling quite tired and emotional.

Only a moment later, they were slumped over each other, sleeping soundly.

"It's a good thing 'home' is only a corridor away," Aurora grumbled good-naturedly. She smiled down at the two sleeping beauties for a moment and then glanced at Nathaniel. She sensed something was wrong. "Are you coming?"

"Oh. Erm. No, thank you, Aurora." He bowed his head respectfully. "But thank you," he added, hastily, awkwardly.

"You'll be along shortly, then?" she asked gently, her voice softening.

He nodded.

While Aurora tried to make a graceful exit (or as graceful as is possible while one is dragging two large, sleeping people), she felt sorry for Nathaniel. He was genuinely a good person; he had just gotten involved with a certain person who was not so good. And by involved, she meant "cruelly manipulated by an unfortunate, unrequited, and unreturned crush". She couldn't quite bring herself to be angry at him for this. He was almost childlike, she realized, in his loyalty and naiveté, and couldn't really be blamed for bringing such pain upon the kingdom, and her. She hoped sincerely that he would get a happily ever after one day. He deserved someone better than Narissa.

Nathaniel twined his fingers together and looked down silently at the woman he had loved. He had used to long to kiss those plump lips, ever curved downwards in a sultry pout. He had used to long to run his thick fingers through her dark locks. He had used to long to stare into those mysterious eyes and know they were looking back into his. But he found that he no longer desired these things. Gingerly, he lifted the gold locket out from under his shirt and undid the clasp. Then he dropped it onto her.

He glanced around at the charred walls around him, at the two idiot cronies laying unconscious in a pile. He checked for rings on their fingers, and seeing none, he produced a match from his pocket and set the broken glasses of potions littering the floor ablaze. He inhaled and exhaled deeply, aware that he was committing a crime, but not quite sorry. Backing out of the room, he closed the door behind him, and did not look back.

As the flames grew and began to lick hungrily at the remains left by the struggle, the locket began to melt and contort, and the perfect picture within burned.


	15. The Coronation

**Love at First Song**

Chapter Fifteen: The Coronation

**AN: Yes, it's been forever since I've updated. Yes, I am very sorry. Yes, I hate writing author's notes.**

"Come along, Destiny. Nice horse," Nathaniel prodded gently, tugging on the white mare's lead rope as he led her to the fallen log. He hopped up onto the log and from there swung clumsily into the saddle. Destiny snorted uneasily and rolled her eyes backwards to check out the intruder, as if to ask, _What are _you_ doing there?_

The portly man nudged her sides and she reluctantly set off at a walk. At another nudge, she jolted into a bouncy trot, thoroughly rattling her rider and causing him to nudge her again, accidentally, to which she responded by speeding up further into a rocking canter. She was quite pleased when he fell off.

"Look here, lady horse," Nathaniel said sternly, finally catching up to her. "I. Am. Trying. To. Help." He looked intently into the horse's eyes as if he could get this through to her through some kind of weird telepathy.

After a short struggle, he was once again astride. This time he settled for a sedate walk. Soon, they reached a small town and he dismounted, tied Destiny (firmly) to a tree, and began knocking on doors until someone answered.

"Sorry to interrupt, miss," he apologized to a tired-looking young woman with two small children clutching at her thin dress. "There was a… terrible explosion in the castle. The Queen was killed." He took a moment to look grieved before continuing. "Coronation ceremonies and ball for the new king and his bride are tonight and the entire kingdom is invited to attend! Tell your friends!"

The woman looked relieved and gave him a small smile of thanks. Nathaniel nodded shortly and went along to the next houses.

All the people he saw looked tired, poor, and unhappy. He had a feeling, from the way he responded to his announcement, that Narissa had hurt them in some way, and he wasn't surprised.

When he came along to a tiny smithy, the gruff man he was addressing looked up. "Was anyone else hurt?"

"Oh. Er. No, no sir," he managed. "Not that I know of."

"My daughter works there. Aurora," the man replied, not appearing to hear. "Is she all right?"

Nathaniel softened. "Yes. She's a wonderful child, that one. You did a fine job with her, sir, if I may say so."

The man grunted, embarrassed by the praise, and bent over his work again.  
Nathaniel went on, until the entire town had heard of the news. He hoped that lying would not give him trouble with Edward, but he had already disappointed his friend enough, and hoped that this one extra crime might help fix all the others he had committed.

When his work was done, he painstakingly mounted Destiny for a final time and they picked their way back to the castle. The horse seemed to sense that they were almost home, for when they reached the clearing from which the castle was visible, she broke into a smooth canter (and this time, Nathaniel held on). He patted her and left her to one of the stable hands to take care of. Then he drew in a deep breath and entered the castle.

*

Already the castle was bustling with the preparations for the grand ceremonies. Nathaniel felt bad that he had given them such short notice, but given the circumstances, he figured it would be more effective than possibly having Edward tell his own tale. After all, most of the staff was delighted to be rid of their cruel queen. Still, no one could say what the repercussions would be if it was found out that the heir to the throne had killed to get it. Narissa had died with the same secret.

"Edward, my prince," he called loudly, knocking soundly on his bedroom door as three maids whisked by him carrying various large dishes. "Open up."

Some muffled sounds could be heard from within the chamber, and Nathaniel knocked more insistently.

Finally, Edward appeared. He seemed to have been in mid-song, for his face was lit with the flush that always comes when one has spent one's breath on a few good long notes. He beamed and waved Nathaniel into his room.

"Sire, sire," Nathaniel said presently. "You must get ready. I have scheduled a ball for tonight, for all the people to see their new king!"

"New king?" the prince gasped, jealousy written all over his face. "Who is the lucky fellow?"

"Why, it is you, my prince," Nathaniel replied patiently, trying not to look annoyed. "Who else would it be?" He nudged Edward in the direction of his dresser and rifled through some of its contents. "We must find you something appropriate to wear."

Surprised and pleased, Edward also began to search in earnest. "So you've been planning all day, friend?"

"That I have. What have you done these past few hours?"

"Spent time with Giselle," was the quick reply. He was clearly reveling in his new ability to love his wife, unhindered. Turning back to the piles of clothes, Edward sighed. "Oh, what shall I wear?"

"I couldn't say," Nathaniel murmured. "I was always told what to pick out for you…"

"No matter," Edward decided brightly. "Giselle can help." He leaned out his door into the grand hallway. "Giselle, my love! We are quite in need of your assistance!"

"Coming, dearest!"

In a rustle of skirts, and the numerous sounds that accompany a large company of moving animals, Giselle poked her head into the room. "Well, what have we here?" She turned to give Nathaniel a quick greeting. "Hello, Nathaniel."

He smiled nervously in return.

Pip rolled his eyes. "Yeah, yeah, there's a ball, we heard. Now let's get movin', people!"

"Chipmunks have very good ears," Giselle explained. Nathaniel nodded, though not quite surely.

"Well, the royal colors are purple and red…" "No, no purple. I don't like purple anymore." "It really is outdated, anyway. Maybe green?" "Just stick with the red…"

Many animal voices could be heard and Nathaniel found himself ushered away. Giselle and Edward looked comfortable in the mix of the forest creatures, and he quietly exited into the hallway. He still had a lot of preparations to do for the ball, anyway. Now that _she_ was gone, he was pretty much on his own for all this. He turned from the door after quietly closing it behind him and very nearly ran into Aurora.

"Oh. What are you doing here?" he asked.

"Getting Giselle ready for the ball," she said, not unkindly.

"Go on, then. Sorry for the interruption."

He inclined his head respectfully and she gave him a half-smile before he went on his way.

"Nathaniel," she said quickly, causing him to turn back around. "You know… you really aren't that bad."

He raised an eyebrow, surprised by the compliment, if it was one.

"I mean," Aurora clarified, "that even though you did some bad things, I don't blame you. And… I think I understand."

"I think that's the nicest thing anyone has ever said to me," Nathaniel breathed softly. "Thank you."

"Oh, don't mention it," she hastily added. Then she pushed her way into Giselle's room before things could get more awkward.

Biting her lip, Aurora called for her friend and mistress.

"Giselle? You in here?"

When there was no reply, she let herself exhale as she leaned heavily into the door. These past few weeks had been the most emotionally taxing she had ever experienced, but many of the emotions had been shades of joy. She wished she could stay in the castle with Giselle forever, but it was not meant to be. After tonight, she would be returning home.

It had, of course, been a tough decision to make. But she missed home. She missed her dad, however gruff he was. And he needed her. She had a feeling she wasn't going to be paid, as was her original purpose for coming here, now that Narissa was dead.

Guilt and sadness plagued her as she carefully laid out a dress and accessories for Giselle. There were so many things she would miss about this place. There was Pip – he was a nice guy, deep down. And she had even grown attached to Nathaniel. Edward always made her smile, and Giselle… Giselle would forever hold a place in her heart. There was no other way to really explain it. Their relationship had been strange at first, but they had grown to be friends. Aurora would always be grateful for her kindness. And even if it would be hard to leave, at least she would always have the good memories. But she might as well quit while she was ahead. Things would turn sour, eventually, she knew. They always did.

While she was quietly musing and absent-mindedly fluffing and re-fluffing the skirt of the gown she had laid out for Giselle, the door suddenly opened.

"Oh, Aurora! I've been looking all over the castle for you," the princess said warmly. "Did you know there is to be a ball tonight?"

Aurora smiled weakly and feigned surprise. "No, I didn't. How nice."

Giselle's delicate eyebrows quirked and she cocked her eyes.

"Something is wrong."

It wasn't a question.

"No, I'm fine," Aurora reassured her, hastily adding, "I laid out a dress for you. Here is a pair of nice gloves, and there are your shoes…"

Easily distracted, as hoped, by all the clothes and accessories, Giselle dropped the subject of her Aurora's displeasure in order to try on everything and look at herself in the mirror.

"You look as lovely as always, Princess," she said softly, as she watched Giselle in front of a mirror. "I dare say the fairest in all of the land."

"Do you really think so?" Giselle asked happily, twirling. "Oh, I'm so happy I could… faint."

"Please don't," Aurora gasped.

Giselle placed her hands on the girl's shoulders. "I'm only kidding, silly. Tonight will be so very wonderful! There will be music, and dancing, and you, and Edward, and all the kingdom!"

"I'm sure you will enjoy yourself greatly, Princess."

"Oh, I do hope to see you there, Aurora."

Aurora nodded weakly, avoiding Giselle's eyes.

*

"Oh, Edward, I'm having so much fun!" Giselle cried with pleasure as her beloved prince swung her about on the floor during a lively dance.

She squealed as he dipped her low.

"Me too, my love," Edward murmured into her cheek as he pulled her close.

Suddenly, a loud clang could be heard. Nathaniel stood on a table, tapping a fork against a wine glass.

"May I have your attention, ladies and gentlemen," he requested as the song ended. "Your prince and princess!"

The people all cheered as Edward bowed, beaming, and Giselle curtsied delicately.

"And now, for a more serious matter."

The crowd hushed. All eyes were on Nathaniel, who was looking more nervous by the minute. His voice carried well in the ballroom, but it quavered slightly as he continued.

"As you have all been made aware, our queen recently suffered an untimely death."

There were gasps and a hum of idle chatter rose.

"And, as you all need a ruler," he paused as the crowd quieted to step down from the table to make his way through the crowd, "it is my greatest honor to give you your _new_ Royal Highnesses, the King Edward and Queen Giselle!"

Dazed and beaming, they allowed Nathaniel to lead them to the two thrones in the center of the back wall. They ascended the steps and seated themselves, smiling so wide that it was visible from miles away. The whole kingdom roared appreciatively as Nathaniel placed the crowns upon their leaders' heads.

"My King and my Queen," he said respectfully, bowing to kiss their hands, "I have never known a greater pleasure than I have experienced this night. May you use your power wisely and fairly."

Edward nodded with previously unknown solemnity on his part, and Giselle bobbed her head in agreement.

Nathaniel continued. "As protocol dictates, you shall pick your advisors. They shall aid you in the process of both making and abolishing laws. You shall be compassionate, gentle, and just. You shall possess great strength and knowledge. The castle is to be your home as well as that of your people. All the fruits of our kingdom shall be yours, and in the fruits of your leadership we might also take part. We shall be loyal to you and you alone, and you might also be loyal to us. You shall be our leaders, and we shall be your subjects, as long as all of us may live." He paused, a small smile beginning in the corner of his mouth. "But the formalities may wait. Now, let us dance!"

Edward stood, lifted his trusted friend from the ground, and kissed him on both cheeks. Giselle also kissed him, at which the portly man blushed profusely. The musicians resumed with a gay waltz that stirred the hearts of all, and the floor was whirling with colors and bodies.

As the night finally waned, and the first colors of the sunset began to show themselves across the wide horizon, people began to grow tired. Giselle and Edward thanked everyone with utmost sincerity as they left, to go home to their warm beds, knowing that they were in good hands, and have pleasant dreams. But Giselle and Edward felt not the slightest hint of sleepiness. They were eager to start their reign off right.

Edward instantly picked Nathaniel as his assistant, and Giselle heartily agreed to the decision. They dismissed all of their old, unfaithful staff (Louie was exiled to another kingdom, where he would toil happily as a grand chef and boss many other subordinate chefs around) and requested the presence of many new ones. Of course, all the animals were recruited, which Pip quite enjoyed. Giselle was asking after Aurora, but Nathaniel admitted that he had not seen her since the previous afternoon.

After many of the formalities had been dealt with, they parted to their rooms, feeling quite content to retire. Edward's snores could be heard almost immediately after they got into bed, but Giselle lay awake, thinking of new responsibilities and joys, and also of Aurora.


	16. The Search

**Love at First Song**

Chapter Sixteen: The Search

"Hello?"

It was early in the morning. The sun was just beginning to creep over the horizon, and birds were cheeping cautiously into the brisk air that usually accompanies the birth of a new day in a forest.

Aurora, dressed in all of her court finery in her previous preparation for the ball, knocked gingerly on the door to the place that had once been her home. Well, technically, it still was, but it didn't quite feel that way anymore. She looked back with a wistful sigh at her solitary parcel. There was little in it, other than some money and the remnants of food she had taken for the journey. (It took much longer on foot than it might have in a carriage, and she had walked all night to get here.) None of the clothes she had left with fit her anymore, and she did not wish to keep any tokens of her friendship with the princess. The dress she was wearing was the nicest thing she had ever owned, and probably ever would own – it had been given to her from Giselle and all her animal friends in thanks for saving her life. And while Aurora was neither willing to lug all the other dresses Giselle had given her home, nor able to find a use for them there, she was still going to miss them somewhat. But they would only remind her of the life she had once lived, and could no longer live. And that would only make her a sad, miserable, useless child, like she had on a few occasions been told she was.

"Papa," she said indignantly, knocking with more fervor this time. "It's me, Aurora. Open up."

She knew he was awake. She had gotten up many times before dawn to make him a meager breakfast before he went off to work to make a meager living.

Oh, how unwise it had been to even bring this dress at all! She was a fool to have kept from bringing a simpler dress. It had been difficult to walk in and was now in something of a bad condition anyway. And when could she wear it? She resigned herself to the fact that she would probably have to sell it in order to buy new material, to sew a new dress. And what would her father say when he saw her in it? He would think castle life had spoiled her. …Oh, why did she care about what he thought? Why had she even come back to this wretched place at all?!

"Aurora."

Her father's voice was so warm and inviting that all of her negative thoughts melted away, if only for just an instant, when he embraced her.

"Papa," she mumbled, her voice muffled as her face pressed into the coarse garment covering his chest.

He pulled away to hold her at an arms' length, simply looking at her. She quirked an eyebrow. It was not like him to be so appraising. She winced inwardly, waiting for criticism.

"Aurora," he repeated. "You look… beautiful."

The unexpected praise made her blush. Why was he acting this way? She cleared her throat and turned to pick up her parcel. She emptied it of its contents, letting her father get a good look at all the money she had suffered so in order to get for him. He had better be grateful.

But for the moment, his eyes were only on her. "So you came all this way on your own, did ya?"

Aurora nodded meekly.

"What made you choose to leave the castle, love?"

Aurora's head snapped up at his sudden affection. She was suspicious – had he been drinking again? Her eyes searched the place for a bottle, but there was none.

"I had no place there any longer," she said simply. "There… there is a new queen now, and I am sure she has hired new servants much better than I."

"Aye. You must have been very close to her, though, for all the time—"

"I'm tired, Father. I should be getting to bed," Aurora interrupted sharply, willing the tears brimming in her eyes to stay where they were.

"Oh. All right," her father said, squaring his shoulders. "Off you go then."

She stood her ground, watching him leave. Then she began to cry in earnest, pining for all that she had lost but could not have dared to keep.

*

The longer Giselle was awake, the more restless she became. She knew it would be rude to be up around the castle when everyone was awake. And though she had not been involved in it long, castle life had taught her enough that it was improper to be seen anywhere without Edward. Narissa was the only one who could get away with being a powerful female.

So she tossed, and she turned. The little sleep she did get was less than satisfactory. Dreams kept coming to her about bad things that could happen to Aurora. Obviously, some of Narissa's minions still lingered. It would be easy for them to place blame for the death of their queen on _her_, if they were too cowardly to come after Edward or Giselle. Giselle felt herself dying slowly as Edward slept on and on, through the day and then through the night. Morning couldn't come fast enough.

As soon as her king opened her eyes, the first thing out of her mouth was this: "Edward, my love, we must find Aurora at once."

Still groggy, Edward gave her a tired smile. She whipped off the bedcovers.

"At once!" she repeated urgently.

The cold air seeping in between the sheets finally woke Edward.

"Hmm? What?" Confusion was evident all over his face.

"Aurora's gone."

"What?" Edward sat up and rubbed his eyes sleepily.

"She's been gone since last night. Oh, no wonder she seemed so sad before the ball!" Giselle mumbled as she paced the room, scolding herself.

"She wasn't at the ball?"

Giselle sighed in slight exasperation. "How could you not notice her absence? She is one of my very dearest friends."

Edward shook his head, saying apologetically, "I am sorry, my love. I must have been too busy with the festivities." He stood, a resolute look taking over his features. "We shall do whatever necessary to find her, if it makes you happy."

"Oh, it would, it would!"

"Well, I shall call for the aid of Nathaniel. You might call Pip."

She nodded her agreement and opened to window to trill a few, rather more urgent than normal, notes. Sure enough, Pip and his friends soon appeared.

"You called?"

"Aurora is missing!"

"Aw, man," Pip said. He had not liked Aurora so much at first, but he had grown to regard her in a much higher esteem lately.

"What can we do?" the other animals asked.

"Search the woods. Everyone else is already patrolling the castle."

"You haven't checked to see if she's still here?" confirmed Pip.

"Oh… I hadn't thought of that," Giselle said with a blush, feeling quite silly all of a sudden. "I must have let my bad thoughts overtake me. I'm dreadfully sorry for all the fuss… I'm sure she's fine," she said, more to reassure herself than anything else.

Edward had left to get dressed and talk to Nathaniel, and a new maid entered to assist Giselle. She assured her that she didn't need help, but in all honesty, she was not used to dressing herself. She missed Aurora heartily, and didn't want anybody other than her old friend to help her. She sat hopelessly on her bed.

"Can you help me? Like you used to," she said with a small smile. The animals all agreed, and she was soon dressed and ready to go.

With the disappointing report that Aurora was indeed nowhere on the castle grounds, the royal knights set out to find her. But that was not enough for Giselle, who also wanted to aid in the search.

"Edward, we must go away this instant!" she cried, as soon as her husband had re-entered the room in his kingly garb. "If we don't find Aurora, I think I shall… I shall… _perish_," she finished dramatically.

Edward had just gotten dressed, but he certainly did not want Giselle to perish. "I'll have Nathaniel put on my hunting clothes," he agreed good-naturedly.

Every additional minute Giselle had to wait, she grew a good deal more anxious. The animals did their very best to comfort her, but it was all for naught.

As soon as they were able, Giselle and company had mounted their horses and were ready to go. The animals that could fly led the way in the sky, and those who could not ran alongside. Pip clung to Giselle as she clung to Edward on Destiny's back.

After only a short ride, Nathaniel called for the party to halt. "That's the place. Her father's smithy."

*

Aurora had been having a good cry, which was rather soothing to do as long as you were by yourself, when she heard an insistent knocking at her front door. She rose reluctantly and went to see who it was.

"Giselle?" she said incredulously, as the door was thrown open and she was flung into the wall behind it.

"Aurora? Aurora, darling, where are you?" Giselle cried, following Edward inside.

"I'm in here," Aurora responded, her voice muffled considerably by the fact that her face was smushed against the door.

"My apologies," Edward said quickly, as he brought her out and brushed her off gingerly with a sheepish smile.

"Oh, thank goodness you're all right!" Giselle exclaimed, giving Aurora a tighter hug than she had ever experienced. "Whatever are you doing here?"

"My father needed me home," Aurora mumbled, avoiding the concerned glances of her friends. "I thought it would be… too painful to say goodbye."

Nathaniel glanced at Edward. They knew that this was not the case, at least the former part, because they had just thoroughly questioned Aurora's father. And by thoroughly, I mean "by threatening to bludgeon him to death if he did not tell them the real and complete truth at that very instant." He had hastily enlightened them to his own surprise at his daughter's sudden return, and that he had done nothing to demand or even encourage it. He even told them that Aurora seemed sad upon parting from them. They had set him down, less than gently at that, and hastened to the dwelling as soon as they were told of its location.

"But why?" Giselle asked. "You gave all of us such a fright!"

"I'm sorry," Aurora replied sincerely. "But I really couldn't have."

"Why?" Giselle pushed.

"Because," Aurora confessed slowly, "you might have tried to stop me."

"Not if it was what you had really, truly wanted in your heart," Giselle promised. "I would never keep you from your heart's desires."

"Oh, Giselle, I just couldn't bear it any longer," Aurora blubbered finally, fat tears beginning to streak down her cheeks. "I knew it couldn't last. I d-didn't deserve it."

"Oh, Aurora, but you are my dearest friend! Did you not know how much I care for you? You are such a good and wonderful girl. How could you think otherwise?"

"I am a wretched child," Aurora mumbled. "Everyone always says so."

"Who is _everyone_?" Giselle asked gently, taking Aurora's chin in her hand so she could search the girl's eyes with her own. "Surely no one very truthful."

"Narissa," Aurora admitted. Her eyes fluttered closed to avoid Giselle's intense stare.

"Narissa!" Giselle cried. "Has she ever said anything to anyone with a merit of truth to it?"

"I say, she hasn't," Nathaniel said quietly from his position in the corner of the room.

"See? Don't think another thought about it," Giselle said, releasing the girl's chin gently and offering her a smile. "Everyone in this room thinks quite differently, I daresay. And we are all the ones that truly matter, right?"

Aurora fought a smile as she nodded.

Edward hadn't the slightest idea what they were talking about, but he always loved attention, particularly Giselle's, so he made a gallant offer. "Dear girl, you are always welcome into my home. You shan't think another moment of it. Now come away with us, at once!"

"Edward, my love!" Giselle scolded lightly. "You mustn't order Aurora around so. She can make her own decisions." She looked back at the girl. "So, what do you think, Aurora?"

"I would love to come back," Aurora said, a small smile gracing her features. "If… you'll have me."

Giselle enveloped her younger friend in a another embrace, and both of their smiles grew. Edward joined in on the hug, just for the fun of it, and Pip popped in too. The other animals also gathered there, and when Edward motioned to his friend Nathaniel, the man obliged as well, if somewhat reluctantly.

"You may have whatever you wish," Giselle was saying, as they parted. "New gowns, a horse of your own, tournaments and balls—"

While a tournament intrigued Aurora, what she said was simply, "There is one thing I might ask of you."

"Name it and it shall be yours," Edward enthused.

"A job. For my father," she murmured, tentatively, before hastily adding, "please."

"Well," Nathaniel spoke up slowly, "I do believe that the position of royal blacksmith is newly opened."

"That is just wonderful!" Giselle said, clapping her hands in delight.

"What a perfectly grand idea, Nathaniel," Edward agreed.

"Then you will come with us?" Giselle confirmed. "And your father, too?"

"Yes," Aurora said, a beam breaking out on her face. "Yes we will."

So Aurora, and her father, joined the king and queen at their castle. All lived in harmony.

And that is how the search (of Giselle, Edward, Aurora, and the entire kingdom of Andalasia) for happiness finally came to an end.

*

**AN: I know, I know. I promised a faster update. And this is not that satisfying, but here it is anyway. I had to do it. There will be one more chapter, so stay tuned! I am working on it at this very moment.**


	17. The Happy Ending

**Love at First Song**

Chapter Seventeen: The Happy Ending

**AN: Two updates in one day – so if you missed the last chapter, go back and read it. :) **

**Well, here it is! - (finally) - the last chapter of this fic. This chapter will serve mostly as a sort of epilogue but I thought it was a nice way to wrap things up. It has been a fun journey; thanks to all of you who have read and reviewed, and I hope you enjoyed reading this as much as I enjoyed writing it! xo, **_**hairsprayheart**_

*

It was Aurora's sixteenth birthday, and to celebrate, His Royal Highness King Edward and Her Royal Highness Queen Giselle of Andalasia were hosting a grand tournament and ball.

People from far-away kingdoms began to flow into the castle. Knights came to show their skill; lords and ladies came to pay their respects to Aurora (and in turn, impress Edward and Giselle and perhaps earn a higher position or larger estate); and young princes and princesses gathered to "come out" into society and perhaps have a marriage arranged. (Such practices were not altogether encouraged in Andalasia, as the last of this kind had ushered in the reign of Edward's father, and in turn, Narissa.) Invitations had been sent out months ahead of time, and Nathaniel, as well as Aurora's assistant, busied themselves with the planning. All the animals had aided with the creation of Aurora's dress. Banners were hung in every hall, silver serving plates polished, the horses groomed… The entire kingdom of Andalasia was involved in some sort or another. A celebration so grand had not occurred since the coronation, or even before.

All the preparations had certainly paid off. The crowd had gathered in the newly-built stadium, cheering and waving pennants with pride. The knights lowered their lances, as one, and the horses' anxious stomping of hooves and chomping at the bit could almost be heard.

A hush fell over the crowd, and a sense of peace washed over Aurora. Giselle, seated on her left, beamed and squeezed her hand excitedly. Edward, seated to the left of Giselle, was staring ahead intently at the knights below. Nathaniel, to the left of _him_, noticed Aurora looking at him and smiled shyly before turning away. To Aurora's right, her father sat. She took a moment to admire him. His stubble shaved, and dressed in the fine uniform of Andalasia, she couldn't help but to do it. He looked so young; so handsome, and so… _happy_. Warm breath tickled Aurora's ear suddenly.

"Aurora," her father whispered, squeezing her shoulder and offering her a small smile, "you should know something. For every bottle I emptied, I was convinced I would find what I wanted at the bottom. But what made me truly happy was here along." He pressed a kiss to the crown of her head. "Happy birthday, my sweet."

A flush of joy lit Aurora's cheeks. A trumpet sounded to signal the beginning of the joust. She told her father she loved him, but her voice was drowned out by the clanging of lances and whinnies of horses. She settled for kissing his cheek instead.

As the tournament wore on, the grueling competition had come down to two knights. Edward's mouth was slightly agape as he stared at the battling pair in awe, and his hand tightly gripped Giselle's. She smiled at him, stroking his palm with her pinkie and leaning against him heavily. Nathaniel wrung his hands nervously, hoping neither would be hurt, but enjoying himself immensely. Aurora had unconsciously moved to the edge of her seat as she gazed intently at the two young men locked in combat. After a moment longer, one with a purple and gold shield emerged victorious. Everyone rose to cheer for him, and he shook his defeated opponents' hands before lifting the front of his helmet and waving to the crowd.

Time froze for a moment as his horse pranced in place, flowers falling all around them, and the knight turned to lock eyes with Aurora. She could have melted. Her father bit the inside of his cheek to refrain from smiling when he noticed her sighing wistfully and watching the young man.

Nathaniel was having a sort of romantic epiphany, himself, as he watched a woman across the way leap up and cheer with great enthusiasm. Her long, dark hair and deep brown eyes captivated him from the moment he saw her. He vowed he would dance with her that night, at the ball.

Giselle and Edward gathered up a pair of roses to toss in celebration, but gave them to each other, instead, and shared a kiss before tossing the other's flower. They held each other, observing the joy all around them and thinking that life could hardly be more perfect.

And because they were happy, all their animal friends were, too. Pip had especially enjoyed the action, but would be glad to go home to some peace and quiet, a nice pile of nuts, and a warm bed while his friends were at the ball.

So, while he ate and slept, his friends were dancing, and talking, and also eating. Nathaniel did indeed get to dance with the captivating woman (Isabelle), who turned out to be a lover of bashful men, and in turn Nathaniel. They spent the entire night together, making small talk, and slowly but surely getting closer to each other as they danced.

Giselle and Edward, of course, danced with each other, or at least, for about half of the night. The queen was beginning to look a little peaked when Edward insisted that she should rest. He hoped that this would relieve her of her strange exhaustion. When he brought a glass of water to her, he inquired as to why she might feel so poorly. That glass was promptly dropped when she explained, glowing, the reason.

With the king and queen out of the spotlight, Aurora became the belle of the ball. Her father complimented her on how beautiful she looked in her new dress, and the two flew across the floor together. They parted after only one dance, because there was a line of others waiting to dance with Aurora and wish her a happy birthday. Only a few were brave enough to slow-dance with her, and one of these looked startlingly familiar. It was the young knight that had won the tournament. They were reserved and polite for the dictated grace period of one dance, but when that dance had ended and another began, they began to act more like themselves. And that is when they fell in love.

When the musicians ceased playing, the people stopped dancing, and the banquet had been put away, all eyes were focused on Edward and Giselle, and Aurora and her father. Edward took a moment to thank everyone for their attendance, then let Giselle take the floor to talk about Aurora.

"Aurora is the most wonderful girl – woman – I have ever met. I wish her every happiness," Giselle said simply, giving her friend a kiss on the cheek.

The crowd _awww_ed appreciatively, but soon someone was calling for silence. Aurora's father had an announcement to make, himself.

"Sixteen years ago, this beautiful young lady was born. In order to keep her safe, she was entrusted to me and my wife, the king's closest advisors. I took on the role of a blacksmith and went into hiding. My wife died suddenly, but I knew I must keep taking care of the girl. I am ashamed to say that when we fell upon hard times, I sent her away, both to earn money and also so she could get better care than I could have given her. I had hoped that in her journey she might learn of her true heritage. But as she did not, I will, as commanded by King Edward the First—"

"May he rest in peace," the crowd interjected, in unison.

"—reveal it myself on the eve of her sixteenth birthday. I, Sir James Harrier of Andalasia, present to you Princess Aurora of Andalasia, daughter of King Edward the First—"

"May he rest in peace," the crowd said again, more impatiently.

"—and sister of King Edward the Second."

"Long may he reign!" the crowd cried jubilantly.

"Papa, is it true?" Aurora exclaimed, her voice almost lost in the noise. "Am I really a princess? Edward's sister?"

"Yes, dear girl." He pulled her into a tight embrace, hot tears beginning to run down his cheeks. "Your father had already died when you were born, and we were suspicious of Narissa. We could not afford to jeopardize you by taking in Edward, and we had some helpers on the inside to make sure he was safe, too. But he is indeed your brother, and you are indeed a princess."

Aurora started to cry, too, for reasons she was not sure of. She would look back and see that it was happiness. But as she hugged her "father", she told him that she would always think of him as such.

Edward went to Aurora… his sister. He was not sure what to do, but Aurora got rid of the awkwardness almost immediately by giving him a hug, too. He tensed, but then returned the hug heartily.

"Cheers, to a new beginning!" cried Nathaniel, the first one to manage his thoughts enough to form a sentence.

"For all of us," Edward said, pulling Aurora over to hug Giselle, and looking at his wife knowingly.

*****

Aurora had settled into life at the castle quite well. She never was able to call Sir James by his Christian name, and even though most everything about him changed after that fateful night, she still thought of him as her father. He semi-retired from his blacksmithing duties (though he was reputed to be the best in the land, and was the only one who could shoe Destiny) to return to his long-previous duties as Royal Advisor – beside Nathaniel, of course, whom he became very close friends with.

By the end of the month, Nathaniel had begun to officially court Isabelle (it would have been sooner, if he had not been so very shy and self-conscious), and before many more months had gone, he had asked for her hand. They were married on the first day of spring, and lived happily in a private wing of the castle. They never had children, for there were plenty others around to love and take care of.

Giselle gave birth to Prince Edward the Third during the dead of winter late one night. He came early, but he was the only one not surprised by this. From his first day of life he was the real ruler of the castle. He had both of his parents, as well as most of the castle staff (particularly Nathaniel) wrapped around his tiny fingers. He would grow to be a strong, just prince that was loved by all the kingdom.

Prince Edward the Third was followed, a year and a half later, by Rose Aurora (named in part for her aunt), born during the one of the hottest summers Andalasia had ever experienced. Despite the record-breaking circumstances in which she was born, she was quiet, even from the start – and the castle was grateful for this after her brother. Under the careful tutelage of Isabelle, she became learned. She grew into a wise, beautiful young woman that everyone adored and revered.

Princess Aurora herself married her knight in shining armor, Stephen. She was loved by the kingdom for her quick wit and humility, and her husband for his bravery and compassion. They surprised everyone by having _seven_ sons – James, John, Adam, Thomas, William, and Robert and Richard (twins). They were all unique and special in their own ways.

Pip lived to be a fat, sassy old chipmunk. He always had something to say, and his advice was greatly treasured by the royal family. Faith the Fawn was the sweetest of leaders to her fellow animals in the forest. And, of course, all the other animals shared in their happiness.

Giselle often reflected on the way her life had turned out, and she was not at all sorry. She loved Edward more than most people normally love each other, and they were happy together. She knew she had found her true love. She also dearly loved Aurora and Stephen, and Nathaniel and Isabelle, and little Edward and Rose, and Pip, and Sir James. The love that they all had for each other and their kingdom blossomed also in the hearts of their people, and joy was spread throughout the land. Everyone lived happily ever after. And it all began with a song.


End file.
